Disharmony
by Crimson-Eyes26
Summary: Knock Out just wanted to have some alone time from the Nemesis. He normally hated the beach, but finding her there and bringing her back to Megatron changed him forever. Warnings: Sexual intercourse, non-slash Mpreg, blood violence, vampirism.
1. Shoreline Find

Pa

Chapter 1: Shoreline Find

Knock Out didn't know why he suddenly found himself at the place humans called a 'beach'. He hated the beach; the salty air corroded his undercarriage and the water rusted his beloved finish. But…things were feeling off ever since the Decepticons lost their advantage named Orion Pax. Megatron was ready to rip out all of their throat cables, especially when he heard Starscream gave the location of the space bridge to the Autobots. The 'Con doctor figured it was good to give the sharp-toothed tyrant some space. Breakdown headed to Primus-knows-where earlier…so he went to the beach.

But why did he go to the beach if he hated it so much? It was like something was drawing him there, like a moth to a flame. Well, as long as he was here, he could just stare at the foamy white water hit the sand over and over again and get his mind off of the barking of Megatron. Honestly, he was such a pain in the aft to work for. Knock Out asked himself over and over again if it was really worth being a Decepticon. Then again, if he dare try to leave, he would find himself in the scrap yard.

"Stupid Primus-forsaken beach." Knock Out growled. "If I spend another klik here, I'm going to rust from all this moisture…"

Seeing that there were no humans amidst the waves, sand, and ominous fog, he transformed from a car to a robot and stared at the water going back and forth… Funny…it was actually amusing. His ruby optics, which matched his paint-job, scanned through the fog and took in the joys of the unoccupied mass of sand, rock, and water. And then…something else included itself in the misty beach scenery.

The medic crept closer and held his hand over his optics while squinting them. Something large was partially buried in the sand and was slowly being engulfed in salt water. He walked closer and realized that he was wrong when he thought it was a wrecked boat or dune buggy. It was the size of a Cybertronian. Knock Out jumped off the cliff and walked up to the mass that was seemingly that of a dead Autobot or Decepticon. He knelt down and brushed back some of the sand with a scowl and uncovered the helm of the apparent corpse.

The body in the sand was that of a femme, and a strange-looking one to boot. Red and black with green Energon veins running down her neck cables, arms, legs, and torso, a strange flexible metal tube ran from the back of her neck to her left arm to reveal some type of dagger, and when he parted her lip components, he found four pointed denta, two on the top and two on the bottom. How long had this femme been here, and what was her affiliation? He pressed two of his fingers to her neck to find a pulse…but couldn't find one.

"If you were an Autobot, then good riddance to you. But if you were a Decepticon…then it's a shame something like you had to go to waste." He sighed and wiped the sand and water off of his hands. "Oh well, time to find a better place to bury you."

Knock Out knelt down and picked up the dead femme out of her sandy grave. Megatron would probably want to take a look at this find himself just in case he wanted to extract whatever weapons she had on her. However, as the medic jerked on the femme's arms, causing her helm to jerk forward, she took in a gasp of air, startling Knock Out. He dropped the femme and she immediately collapsed onto her back struts only to stare up at the red mech.

"You're still alive!?" Knock Out shrieked. "Where did you come from!?"

The femme panted and kept her luminous green optics on Knock Out. Wait…she was staring at a giant robot!? She let out a scream and got on her hands and knees. And then it occurred to her that she was also large and made of metal. What happened? She locked her green optics with his red ones and didn't look away for a second.

"…Who are you…?" The femme asked. "…How did I get here…?"

"First tell me your affiliation, and I may let you live."

"…Affiliation?"

"Are you an Autobot or Decepticon?" Knock Out asked with impatience. "Answer the question!"

The femme didn't know what in the world he was talking about. Who was he? What was an Autobot or Decepticon? All she could do was shake her helm and press her sharp upper denta to her lower lip component.

"…N-Neither…"

Knock Out's optics widened but then narrowed with some type of sick idea in store for this neutral femme. It reminded him of how Starscream found the amnesiac Hawkeye and brought her into the Decepticon fold shortly after Megatron's prone body was discovered amongst the space bridge debris. However, he would make sure this one wouldn't flee to the Autobots like Hawkeye did. He extended his hand to the confused femme with a dangerous smirk on his lip components.

"Then I will take you somewhere that you'll be safe. My name is Knock Out. What is yours?"

The femme grabbed his hand and just stared at him as she got up. "…I'm sorry to disappoint you…but I can't remember my name… But…the only thing I remember…is that I was once human…"

The red mech cocked his eyebrow at the craziness of her answer. "You were once…human? How could a human suddenly become a Cybertronian?"

"…I-I don't know…but I swear I was once human! If only…I could remember my name…"

Knock Out knew the story was crazy-yet-sad, but he had no time to feel sorry for her. In fact, he didn't feel sorry for anyone, not even Breakdown. The only thing he felt sorry for was if his finish was marred due to his own ignorance or carelessness. There was no room for sympathy for someone he didn't even know or didn't even bother to get to know. His thoughts shifted when the sun started to break through the clouds and fog, which caused the femme to bring her hand to her face and hiss.

"The sun…it's never bothered me so much before…so why now…?"

The mech shrugged and walked along. "Maybe you've been out of it so long your optics haven't adjusted." He paused and placed his fingers to the button on his comlink. "Knock Out to the Nemesis. Requesting a groundbridge to my coordinates. I've got an…interesting find here."

"…W-Who are you talking to…?"

"Just the ship I work on. The groundbridge should be here in 3…2…1."

Right on cue, a bright green portal opened up, which made the femme back up in surprise. Knock Out rolled his optics and stated snippily, "Oh, quit acting so scared of everything! It won't hurt you, now come on!"

The femme gulped and cautiously followed Knock Out through whatever form of bewitching this portal came from. And Knock Out himself? Well…she pretty much figured out that he was as vain as they come, and he was also completely uncaring for another's well-being. So…why was he taking her with him instead of just leaving her there? She sensed some sort of ulterior motive in the works. Wherever she was going…she knew she probably wouldn't like it. She could run right then and there…but she wanted to find out how she went from a human to a robot…no matter what.

The two passed through the groundbridge and ended up in a corridor of a large ship, the Nemesis Knock Out mentioned. The femme noticed numerous other robots that looked exactly alike scurrying about; they all were purple with red visors and small holes for mouths. Some were continuing to work on whatever task they were assigned while others took the moment to stare at the visitor. For some reason, the femme felt some type of insatiable thirst arise inside of her as she looked at the troops.

"What are you standing around for!?" Knock Out called out with pure irritancy. "I'm taking you to Lord Megatron!"

"…Who is Megatron?"

"He is the leader of the Decepticons, now get in here! I'm not waiting on you anymore!"

The femme flinched and followed Knock Out to a set of large doors the possibly led to the one called 'Megatron'. What kind of person was Megatron? Could he possibly have a solution to help her become human again and help her regain her memories? Is that why Knock Out brought her here? Or…was she brought here just to be used for some big plan? Whatever the case…she had to find out what happened to her and why it happened.

"Lord Megatron…I know you're still…steaming from our loss of Orion Pax…but I believe I've found something very promising!" Knock Out stated with his campy voice.

"And what would that be, Knock Out…?" Megatron asked dangerously, not even bothering to turn around to face the red mech.

Knock Out let out a slightly-nervous laugh and ushered the femme to come closer. "Well…let me introduce you to our new recruit."

The Decepticon leader turned around and saw the femme standing next to Knock Out. His optics widened and darted around to examine the specimen. Hmm…this one was very promising…but he knew they couldn't have another traitor like Hawkeye or Starscream. Megatron stepped closer to the femme, not caring that she was now trembling, and asked in a low-but-husky voice, "What is your name?"

"I…I can't remember my name…"

"What do you remember about yourself, my dear?"

"All I remember…is that I was once a human…but I don't know how I ended up like this…"

Megatron tilted his head back and let out a frightening laugh, which deeply disturbed the femme. He straightened up a second later and looked at her with a dark grin. "You were once a human? That is impossible!"

"But I'm telling the truth! I was a human and I want to be that way again! You have to believe me!"

"SILENCE!" Megatron roared before panting and staring at the femme. "Hmph. If you are telling the truth…then we will help you become human again…provided you serve me as a loyal Decepticon. To do that…you must have a designation. Your designation will fit something about you, such as a physical trait or personality fixture."

"Well Lord Megatron, all we know about her right now is that she has no memory of her life…and she seems to be bothered by sunlight."

The Decepticon leader snorted and brought his optics back to the femme. "Based on that information…you shall be known as Nocturne. Do your best not to forget that…"

Nocturne could only stand frozen as the tyrant walked past her and Knock Out without another word. Who would want to work for that…monster? Why wouldn't anyone believe her when she kept telling them that she was once human? Why was this happening to her? Her thoughts stopped when Knock Out shoved her shoulder and wore a deep frown on his face.

"If you want to live on this ship…then do everything Megatron says, no matter how questionable, and stay on his good side! Otherwise, you'll end up on the run like Starscream and on the hit list like Hawkeye!" He paused and walked past her. "Follow me to the medbay so I can do a proper…examination."

"And…if I refuse your offer?"

The red mech smirked behind her back. "Then I'll have to schedule a mandatory appointment that's a little…intense."

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	2. Silent Killer

P

Chapter 2: Silent Killer

"Please take your hands off of my thigh…"

"Why should I? I'm just conducting an examination for your own well-being."

"No you're not. You're groping me and making me feel uncomfortable. Now would you be so kind as to take them off?"

Knock Out faked a pout and took his hand off of Nocturne's thigh. "You know, you're such a spoil-sport. It's been a long time since we've had a femme like you."

"What about that one that I see every so often? The one you call…Airachnid?"

The red mech huffed. "Oh please, she's too much of a freak to have fun with! You and Breakdown are now my sole forms of entertainment around here."

Nocturne stared at him with her glowing green optics. "Are you telling me…you're bisexual?"

"I have no idea what that term means, my dear." Knock Out answered with his usual smirk and snarky repose. "Now hold out your arm and I'll give you our mark."

"…M-Mark?"

The red mech sighed with his irritation growing. "The Decepticon insignia. Are you really this dense?"

"…D-Don't call me dense; that's not how to treat a woman…"

"You're not a woman, you're a Decepticon." He paused and held out a needle and laser scalpel. "Now this will only hurt for just a little bit…"

Nocturne debated at first whether or not to do as he said or just smack him on the spot. But…knowing that he would relay any insolence to Megatron…she had no choice but to comply. She held out her arm, the one that had the strange tube and dagger attached to it, and allowed Knock Out to begin carving the Decepticon insignia into it. The femme squeezed her optics shut when she saw sparks coming from her arm along with smoke, and the pain was intense as well. For Knock Out…well, he actually enjoyed her discomfort a little.

When he did the same procedure on Orion Pax, or rather, Optimus Prime, he showed no signs of discomfort; he was the quiet one, but not as quiet as Soundwave. Of course, amnesia could be useful at times…for certain bots. But Nocturne? Her pain was very visible to him; when he moved the needle the wrong way (sometimes on purpose), she would let out an audible hiss. Well, she didn't need to keep up the cornered animal charade; he finished just as fast as he started.

"There, I'm finished, so you can stop hissing at me!"

"…You didn't have to be so rough…"

The red mech smirked. "Sometimes rough is what it takes to get the job done right, my dear. Now…let me see if you at least remember how to transform."

"…T-Transform?"

Knock Out sighed. "All Cybertronians have to transform into an alternate mode. For me, it's a sports car. Just concentrate and let's see what you turn into!"

"…I…I don't know if I can…"

The red mech growled and stormed for the exit of the medbay. "Then you're completely USELESS! If you can't transform, you won't ever amount to a Decepticon, let alone a Cybertronian! Until you can use that malfunctioning processor to figure out how to transform, don't even bother showing your face to the rest of the crew!"

Nocturne stared in disbelief at the medic as he left, and then found herself lying on the medbay berth in confusion. How could she transform just like that? Why couldn't they understand that as a former human, she wasn't originally built to change form? Forget Megatron being brutal; Knock Out was even worse. He didn't have to cut her with a laser scalpel…because his words hurt even more. But…she would show him she wasn't stupid and she certainly wasn't useless.

And then the odd wave of hunger came over her again.

As if on autopilot, Nocturne rose from the berth and walked towards the door leading out to one of the many halls of the Nemesis. The doors automatically opened, revealing a few of the troops, called Eradicons, walking about and not bothering to pay any attention to her. Her biohazard-green optics scanned them all…and it was like she could literally see the Energon pumping through them. Just the sight of it…it made her run her glossa over her lip components and her sharp denta. She found one all alone at the end of the hallway…and she swept in like a thief in the night. The Eradicon took notice of her, but acted like nothing was wrong.

"You the new Decepticon? Knock Out said for you to stay in the med-AAAAAAAGGGHHH!"

The troop's screaming ceased when Nocturne sunk her denta into his neck cables. Energon started to leak from the wounds, but the femme quickly sucked it up…along with all of the Energon in his body. When all of the Energon was depleted from the Eradicon, his visor went off and he slumped to the cold metallic floor. The femme wiped her lip components and saw the fresh Energon on the back of her hand. A gasped escaped when she realized what she just did. She just killed a fellow Decepticon by drinking his Energon…like a vampire…

But at that moment, she didn't want to stop. She was still starving…

Nocturne crept down the other hallways and made sure the Eradicons she found were alone. Once she found one that was cornered and unguarded, she would swoop in and bite into their necks, draining their Energon in mere seconds. That's how long it took for them to die as well. Each draining, about six in total, satisfied her a little. After the sixth, she was full and decided to go back to the medbay. She didn't worry too much about what would happen if the bodies were discovered; she heard the Eradicons were supposed to be expendable.

"What in the name of Primus happened here!?"

Nocturne cringed when she heard the voice coming from the hall outside the medbay. It was Knock Out…and he apparently discovered the fallen troop. She crept quietly to the corner of the hall and saw the red mech staring with disgust at the Eradicon, drained and dead. However, as she stared at Knock Out…she could see the Energon pumping through him too…and it smelled exquisite. It had a scent like that of fine perfume mixed with a luxurious and therapeutic garden. The Energon in Knock Out was practically screaming her name, calling for her to drink it. The femme tried to fight it, but the urge was too strong. So she pounced, catching the attention of the red mech.

"Nocturne, what do you think you're doing!?"

The femme stopped right in front of him and licked her lip components. "Knock Out…your Energon…smells delicious…"

"…So YOU were the one who did this. Just what kind of Cybertronian are you!?"

"The kind that's fighting not to drink your lifeblood right now…"

Knock Out felt his Energon run cold…which seemed to turn Nocturne off a little. Seeing that she was now seemingly uninterested, he grabbed her arm and dragged her back into the medbay to see what was causing her to be…vampiristic.

Nocturne found herself once again on the medbay berth, this time covered with wires and having a scanning monitor hover up and down over her body. Knock Out stayed at a large computer monitor to see what the scans would pick up in order to solve this morbid mystery. The scans were complete and he reviewed the information from them…and it completely baffled him.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life…"

"Knock Out…what's wrong with me?" Nocturne asked in dread.

The red mech stepped aside and showed her the scans of her own body. "According to these findings, your system is built to run on Energon…but not raw or refined Energon. Your system only runs on Energon that comes straight from…living Cybertronians. And you don't get nourishment from just one; you have to feed on multiple beings just to be satisfied. In other words…you're like what humans call a 'vampire'. However, you're not dead; you have a beating spark."

"So…the only way I can live…is if I kill others and drink their Energon?"

"That's just what I said."

Nocturne just wanted to break down and cry…but she didn't know if she could as a robot. Instead, she just stared into space and hoped everything she was going through was just a dream. But she knew better; this was blatant reality. She couldn't deny the fact that she was now a Decepticon…and a robotic vampire.

"Hey…sorry I called you useless."

Nocturne blinked her optics and focused them on Knock Out. "…Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said. Just because I'm making an apology doesn't mean I'm going to let you warm up to me. Now…if you promise to keep your little condition between us…then I will supply you with a few Eradicons once a week to feed on; that'll be enough to keep your systems running. Who knows? I may even figure out a way for you to be able to process raw Energon."

"…You would actually do that?"

"Only if you make sure not to let Megatron and the others know that you killed the Eradicons and drank their Energon. Now…it would be a good idea for you to sleep…that is, if your systems allow you to recharge normally."

"…I can at least try."

As Knock Out left to go to his quarters for recharge, Nocturne stopped him by calling out, "Um…Knock Out?"

The red mech turned his helm towards the femme and answered, "What is it, Nocturne?"

Nocturne offered up a somber smile. "…Thank you."

Knock Out cocked his eyebrow. "What in the name of Cybertron are you thanking me for?"

"Well…for doing this for me. For…for trying to help me…"

The red mech suddenly felt…conflicted. This femme was thanking him either for helping her continuing a sort of killing spree amongst their own, or she was thanking him for actually deciding to be nice. Well, as nice as Knock Out could get. But of course, he had an ulterior motive for this deal; he wanted to keep Megatron in the dark about Nocturne's "feeding frenzy" so he could spare his own chassis.

"Uh, yeah, whatever. Goodnight, bloodsucker…"

"Goodnight…doctor…"

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	3. Conflicting Points of View

Chapter 3: Conflicting Points of View

"Knock Out…have you noticed that the number of Eradicon troops has…gotten smaller?" A suspicious Breakdown questioned.

The red mech immediately stopped what he was doing and offered a short glance at the blue mech before answering. "No…no, I haven't noticed that at all…"

"I can't believe you haven't noticed it! It's weird…the troop numbers getting smaller started around the time the new Decepticon joined…"

"…You don't say?"

Breakdown cocked his eyebrow and stared at his comrade. "Hey Knock Out…is there something you know about that Nocturne chick that I don't?"

Knock Out froze for a split-second. He really didn't expect Breakdown to be this sharp…to be this questionable. Normally, the larger mech accepted things that went on around them without a second thought, unless of course it involved the Autobots. But it soon occurred to him that maybe Breakdown learned to be more wary ever since Hawkeye declared herself an Autobot and Starscream declared himself neutral. In fact, all of them had their optics opened after those two flew the coop. Everyone was already suspicious of Airachnid, but they were still in the dark about Nocturne…well, except Knock Out, of course.

"Breakdown, aren't you getting a little paranoid? The numbers dwindle all the time after we have our bouts with the Autobots! Nocturne has nothing to do with the drop! Just give her a chance; she's nothing like Hawkeye or Starscream, and she's especially nothing like the bug femme."

Breakdown scowled. "Well…I guess you're right… Still, I'm keeping the optic I have left on her just in case!"

"That's a good Breakdown. Now if you don't mind…I have to check on my patient."

"…Is Nocturne STILL your patient?"

"Is it bad that she's having a hard time adjusting?"

"She's been your patient for WEEKS! Her being seen by you that long is a little…weird."

Knock Out could only roll his optics. And here he thought the only one inquisitive about Nocturne was the other new 'Con, Dreadwing. Dreadwing was something else all-together; he never saw someone so loyal to Megatron since Soundwave. But lately, everyone was getting a little edgy around Airachnid instead of Nocturne. This was due to the fact that the spider femme suggested they abandon Megatron during the Unicron incident and that SHE become leader. Well, they were all fortunate that Soundwave put her in her place.

"Well Breakdown, some patients take longer than others. I mean, remember how much time Megatron spent in the medbay?" He paused when he heard the medbay doors open. "Speaking of patients…"

Breakdown turned around and closed his mouth when he saw Nocturne enter the fray. The femme's complexion was a little paler than usual, and parts of her frame seemed to be thinner, especially in her arms and chassis. Knock Out knew that the femme was due for another feeding, but Breakdown didn't need to know about her dirty little secret. So…he came up with good cover.

"Hey Breakdown, go get about three Eradicons and bring them to the medbay, then you're free to leave."

"What do you need troops for? If you have to do something for Nocturne, can't I just help you do it?"

"I need more than one pair of extra hands for a little procedure I need to perform. Besides…if something goes wrong, you don't need any blame."

"Uh…okay. I'll go get 'em."

When Breakdown left to find a few Eradicons, Nocturne just stared at Knock Out with her green optics flashing a little. "Knock Out…why not just tell Breakdown the truth…? He's your friend…isn't he?"

Knock Out sighed deeply; did this femme still have to be so DENSE? She didn't know that Breakdown was pretty loyal to Megatron as well, not just to him. Really, his friendship with Breakdown was the only reason he even bothered to join with the Decepticons in the first place. But now with freaks like Airachnid…and now with Nocturne…it was getting harder and harder to want to stay on this side. But the biggest concern troubled him more: was Breakdown ready to know something that could potentially send him and the femme to the scrap yard?

"You just don't get it, do you? Breakdown may be my friend, but his loyalty to Megatron actually borders Dreadwing's. If he witnessed your little…feeding frenzy…he would report to him and the both of us would be doomed."

"Maybe not. If he's truly your friend, he could keep the secret too…"

Knock Out was about to further disagree when Breakdown came back with the three required Eradicons. Nocturne stared at them and immediately saw the delectable Energon flowing through them. Her spark became erratic and she ran her glossa over her denta. The large Decepticon took notice of the femme's stare and felt his own Energon running cold.

"Knock Out…why is she looking at us like that?"

The red mech sighed and immediately shut the medbay door, trapping everyone inside. He motioned for the blue mech to come to his side, which he did but with some reluctance. The medic pinched the area between his eyebrows and breathed out a long-held intake.

"Breakdown…keep what's about to happen between the three of us."

"…What?"

Before Breakdown could question any further, he noticed Nocturne missing from the medbay berth. He also took notice of the feeling he was being watched, and that was confirmed when he turned to hear one of the Eradicons yelping. His lone yellow optic widened in horror at what he was currently witnessing. Nocturne had her denta sunk into one of the Eradicons' neck, and it collapsed dead just seconds later. The other two Eradicons made an attempt to flee, but they couldn't because the medbay door was sealed tight. The troops could only spend the last seconds of their lives staring into the face of their killer…a femme very hungry for Energon. It only took five seconds each for Nocturne to drain their lifeblood. Once the other two slumped offline, she turned her attention towards Breakdown, but she only smiled and licked her lip components clean.

"Don't worry, Breakdown. I'm not going to drink your Energon; you're Knock Out's friend, after all."

To her surprise, but not to Knock Out's, the blue mech brought out his hammer and violently trembled in both hatred and fear of the bloodsucking femme. This monster was aboard the Nemesis killing troops…and the red mech knew about this and didn't even bother to warn him. Breakdown was about to charge at and terminate Nocturne when Knock Out abruptly stopped her.

"Breakdown, what the Pit do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm going to get rid of this…this DEMON once and for all, Knock Out! She's a risk to all the Decepticons, including you!"

"No, Breakdown! I'm going to cure her! She's MY experiment! Pretty soon, she'll be a regular Decepticon like us!"

Breakdown growled. "You've never been so passionate on helping someone other than yourself! What makes that monster so special!?"

"I'm not doing this because I feel sorry for her, fraghead!" Knock Out argued. "The only reason I'm doing this is to make sure I can stay on Megatron's good side. How do you think Megatron will react when you kill someone as valuable as this one?"

The red mech had a point, and that seemed to calm Breakdown, but just a little. He put his hammer away and growled just at the sight of Nocturne's green optics. As for the femme, she kept fighting to keep from attacking the blue mech and drinking his Energon, mostly for hunger but also mostly for self-defense reasons. She let out a deep hiss and raised her left arm, causing the strange tube that connected to her neck to quiver and needle-like blade slid out. The sight of it made Breakdown back away.

"Get…Get that th-thing away from me…" Breakdown shakily demanded.

"…Then back off and leave me alone." Nocturne warned before turning to Knock Out. "…You really are arrogant and selfish…"

Knock Out only snorted. "My, aren't you polite? Be grateful I'm even helping you, wench. If I wasn't so nice, I would've ratted you out to Megatron long ago! You're also lucky Dreadwing and Soundwave haven't figured you out! I tolerate you more than that bigger freak, Airachnid!"

Nocturne turned her helm to Knock Out, a sense of darkness mixed with hurt in her biohazard-green optics, as she was heading for the medbay door. "…Is that right? Well…with Megatron as strong as he is…I'm sure he could do without a medic."

The red mech pulled out his Energon prod. "…Is that a threat?"

"It's what you make of it. Now…let me out of here and let me get back to my quarters, 'doctor'."

To her ire, a smirk appeared on his faceplate. He turned on the Energon prod and aimed it right for her chestplate, directly over her spark chamber. "I don't think so…not until you prove to me you can transform."

The femme retracted her arm blade and blinked in surprise. "That's it…? You…just want me to transform and I can leave?"

"Precisely, my dear. Now…show us what you can do."

Nocturne honestly didn't know WHAT she could do. For all she knew, she wasn't meant to have an alternate form…at least she wouldn't have one that could change her killer drive and need to feed. She felt all of her frustration towards Knock Out collecting inside her, along with her anger towards him and Megatron, her anger for not remember who she was, her hopelessness…it all came together. With all of it bundled into one…it seemed to trigger something. She hunched forward and felt her body start to compress. The tube and blade snapped off her arm and went down her back, her knees and legs came together to form the back legs of an animal, her arms and elbows formed the front legs, and her back struts and chestplate collapsed over her and formed a head and torso. From what Knock Out and Breakdown could see, she transformed into what humans referred to as a 'wolf'.

"A little primitive…but impressive, to say the least." Knock Out begrudgingly complimented.

"I had already figured you were hard to impress…so I suppose this is an accomplishment." Nocturne stated.

"At least now Megatron will consider you useful." The red mech muttered. "Now do me a favor and go back to your quarters so we can forget this little commotion ever happened."

Nocturne snorted and changed back into her robot mode. "…Anything to finally get away from you."

Once the vampiric femme left the medbay, Knock Out felt himself being grabbed by the shoulders by Breakdown, who was still standing among the dead Eradicons. The blue mech's lone yellow optic blazed with fury and horror, still reeling from the massacre he witnessed.

"Knock Out…you gotta tell Megatron about her! She'll be the death of all of us! She'll probably turn on us like Hawkeye and Starscream did!"

The red mech smacked his partner's hands off of him. "Mute it, Breakdown. You will NOT report our little 'friend' to Megatron. For all I care right now, she can suck his Energon, too."

"Listen to yourself! You're sounding just like Starscream! You really don't care if the Decepticons win this war!?"

"It's not that! It's just that I'm getting sick and tired of the sharp-toothed tyrant! Plus…in a way…I made a promise to Nocturne that I'd cure her."

Breakdown scoffed. "Since when did you ever make promises to anyone?"

"I guess since that delightful creature washed up on the beach." Knock Out answered, his voice seeping in sarcasm.


	4. Comfort Zones

Chapter 4: Comfort Zones

Nocturne walked around the Nemesis and found it surprisingly quiet. She saw some of the troops walking around, but there was no sign of Breakdown, Dreadwing, or Airachnid. Where were Knock Out, Megatron, and Soundwave? Figuring that everyone was in the primary computer room, she silently crept to the suspected gathering place. It had been a week and she finally mastered her transformation skills along with the multi-purpose weapon on her left arm. As for her feeding, she made it more discrete when she stared to feed on expendable troops on the battlefield…but she never battled an Autobot herself yet.

"Why the creeping about, Nocturne?" A husky voice asked, or rather, demanded.

The femme shot up and saw none-other than Megatron behind her. She turned to face him and regained the composure she thought she lost the first time she looked at his faceplate. "…Forgive me, Megatron. Where are the others?"

The tyrant snorted. "I've sent Breakdown and Dreadwing to 'take care of' Airachnid."

"Your second-in-command? Wait…by 'take care of'…you mean you sent them to kill her?"

Megatron smirked. "For an amnesiac, you are wise. Yes, I sent them to terminate her. You see my dear Nocturne, before you came along, Airachnid proposed leaving me behind to die and taking control of the Decepticons. I was fortunate enough to have someone as loyal as Soundwave to put her in her place." He paused and turned away from the femme. "And lately…I believe she is returning to her self-serving and scavenging ways. So…to break the cycle of treacherous seconds…she will be the last to ever try and betray me."

"And I suppose…the first was Starscream?"

Megatron raised his eyebrow. "You know him?"

"I heard Knock Out talk about him. But…I heard he's still alive."

"He won't be alive for long, Nocturne."

Nocturne gulped and started to slowly back away from Megatron. The Decepticon leader seemed to sense her dread, which caused him to let out a laugh that made her spark tremble; it even made her processor shake. He faced her once again. "Do not worry yourself. As long as you do everything I say and serve me well, you shall stay online."

"Y-Yes…Lord Megatron."

Nocturne decided she would go to the medbay and see how Knock Out was busying himself. She realized despite his arrogance and selfishness…he was the only one she ever felt comfortable around. Megatron…she took one look at his Energon, and she didn't like it. The purple substance…it was like poison and it smelled putrid. That was why even if she was asked to she would never drink Megatron's Energon…just because of how toxic it smelled. And Airachnid's smelled and looked just as bad. It wasn't the purple substance running through Megatron…but it had to be just as much of a taint. But the Energon that smelled the best and would probably taste the best came from Knock Out…but she refused to kill him just because he was trying to cure her.

Was there something else to it besides his sweet-smelling Energon? Was there a reason it smelled so alluring to her while others' smelled plain? What if she had the ability to make Knock Out just like her? There were now so many 'what-ifs' going through her processor that she just couldn't find an answer for anything. All she knew right now was that she was once human and she wanted to be that way again, no matter what it took. Even if it meant having to succumb to Knock Out's whim…his darkest PHYSICAL desires.

The medbay doors opened and she found Knock Out examining some samples on the computer screen. Nocturne immediately recognized them as her Energon samples. Just how long had he been looking at them and testing them with whatever he had available? Her footsteps caught his attention and he slowly turned and saw her entering. An exhausted sigh escaped his lip components.

"So nice of you to grace me with your presence." Knock Out greeted dryly. "Do me a favor and hand me that canister of high-grade next to the operating table…"

The femme grabbed the canister and handed it to the mech, who quickly opened it and chugged the high-grade Energon down. She pursed her lip components as he wiped his off and asked, "How long have you gone without recharge?"

"Why do you care?"

"A doctor needs to be in prime condition to help his patients, doesn't he? Besides…I'm just trying to show concern for you, since you're MY doctor."

Knock Out felt it was almost funny she acted worried about him; maybe she wasn't just acting. A weary smirk appeared on his faceplate and he answered, "I haven't recharged for four days."

Nocturne's optics flashed. "Kn-Knock Out, you should really get some rest! Don't worry about me, just take a break! You need to be rested up in time for when Breakdown and Dreadwing return! I'm pretty sure Breakdown would say the same thing."

He could only muster a quiet laugh as he turned back to the computer screen and poke around with Nocturne's samples under a microscope. "…You know what? He would say that."

"Knock Out…tell me something." Nocturne began. "Why are you working so hard on me?"

The red mech frowned and turned his helm back to her. "You don't want me to? I thought you want to me to cure you of the horrid 'disease' you have."

"I do…don't get me wrong. It's just…you never acted like you really cared that much before. So why now? What's so special about me?"

Just as usual, this femme was dense. But then again, her questions made Knock Out ponder for a moment. Why DID he care so much about helping Nocturne? He wouldn't even care about Breakdown enough to help him with something dire, and he was his friend. Maybe…just maybe…there was something about her he was attracted to…and it wasn't exactly physical. Her dense personality…was actually kind of cute. Still…she was a killer trying to satisfy a basic need: hunger. Hunger drove its sufferers to do things they wouldn't normally do, such as killing their own kind and feasting on their remains. What made Nocturne different was that she actually tried to keep herself under control.

"You're a freak…but…you're a likeable freak." Knock Out finally admitted. "I guess you're actually…fun to have around."

Nocturne abruptly turned away to hide the blush spreading across her visage. That was the first kind thing the medic ever said about her; the rest of the time he kept calling her dense. If he was willing enough to let his pride slide to where he could offer a kind word…maybe there was a chance for something else. Wait, was there a possibility she had feelings for Knock Out? Well…she couldn't deny anything. Her thoughts of a possible amour abruptly stopped when they could hear a groundbridge outside. That was odd for her…Dreadwing and Breakdown were back sooner than expected. After all, she heard Airachnid was a formidable predator and very hard to get rid of.

"Knock Out…something doesn't feel right. Dreadwing and Breakdown are back too soon."

The medic just snorted. "You're being paranoid. Airachnid must've underestimated Breakdown; he has enough muscle to beat her to slag."

"I'm serious… I have a very bad feeling…"

Knock Out continued to ignore the femme's apparent feelings of doom and dread as he exited the medbay and headed for the observatory. As he neared, he recognized two voices; one belonged to Megatron and the other to Dreadwing. Strange…why wasn't Breakdown talking? The blue mech should've been bragging about how he smeared Airachnid's Energon all over the dirt. But for Breakdown to be deathly quiet? Maybe Nocturne's 'bad feeling' wasn't so farfetched after all…

"Lord Megatron…we failed to eliminate the target…" Dreadwing lamented.

"At it was your blundering that cost us Breakdown. But I suppose that's what he gets for charging in half-cocked and cornering the she-beast."

Knock Out stopped dead in his tracks at the words 'cost us Breakdown'. Did that mean…Did that mean Breakdown was terminated? Without thinking, he rushed to the observatory and found Megatron, Soundwave, and Dreadwing…but no Breakdown. Megatron took notice of the footsteps and turned to see the red mech with a bewildered look on his faceplate.

"Knock Out…I didn't expect you to hear our conversation."

"Is it true? I-Is it true that…Breakdown didn't make it back?"

Dreadwing lowered his helm. "I'm sorry, doctor. I know that you two were partners…and close friends. I know what it's like to lose someone dear to you. Breakdown charged after Airachnid, and the spider immobilized me, so I couldn't give him the assistance he needed. To make matters worse…I was unable to recover his remains."

Knock Out heard enough. He abruptly turned around and stormed off back to the medbay. Breakdown being dead was one thing, but Breakdown being dead because of that demented and putrid bug Airachnid? That was just too much; he thought Breakdown was stronger than that. Why did Breakdown show weakness and have to pay for it? He felt his optics start to sting and his chestplate suddenly start to get heavy with emotional drainage and conflicting feelings.

Nocturne perked up when she heard the doors open, but her face soon dropped when she saw a distraught Knock Out come in, looking like he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

"…Breakdown didn't make it back, did he?"

Knock Out didn't answer. He just went over to the computer monitor and began typing something on the keypad. Something…anything to make him forget about the things he just heard. But he should've figured that the femme wouldn't let up…not even for a second.

"Knock Out…what happened? What did Megatron say? Is Breakdown dead or alive?"

"…Shut up…"

"Tell me Knock Out…who came back alive?"

The red mech slammed his hands on to the keypad and he violently spun around to face her, his optics full of venom and his processor wanting to pour out swear after swear at her. She not only had to be so dense; she got it right the first time, so why did she have to be such a pest?

"JUST SHUT THE FRAG UP! Yes, Breakdown's dead; does that satisfy you!?"

"…I-I'm so sorry…"

"Like hell you are!" He turned back to the screen and didn't even try to hide that his shoulders were trembling and his optics continued to sting. "…He wasn't just my partner…he was my one and only friend…"

"…" Nocturne cast her optics downward.

Knock Out continued, not even bothering to spare Nocturne a glance. "Breakdown…he was the only reason I joined this side. Now…Now I have nothing left here…nothing to fight for…"

The femme glanced to the side for a moment. She knew that wasn't true…he still had one thing he could fight for. She got up from the berth and walked up behind him. After staring at his back struts for a few seconds, she gingerly took her arms and wrapped them around his chassis before pressing her frame to his. She couldn't explain it…but she just had this innate desire to give help to those that needed it, even if they didn't want it. Could that be a clue to her life as a human? She put that aside for now and pressed her helm to the back of his.

"Knock Out…let me help you through this. If anything…you're MY reason to stay with the Decepticons…"

The mech turned his helm to her slightly, an astonished look in his optics. "…W-What…?"

"Trust me… No matter what…I'll always be there for you. I know you've treated me without much pleasantness…but I don't care. And now…let me be a reason for you to stay…"

The medic didn't know what to say. That changed when his vocal processor uttered out words that he never thought he would speak to anyone, be they friend or foe.

"…Thank you…"


	5. A Fellow Amnesiac

Chapter 5: A Fellow Amnesiac

Knock Out was trying to enjoy whatever recharge he was able to get. He was practically curled up into a ball onto his berth, not caring if Megatron got angry at him later for not attending to his duties. Right now, he was wanted to sleep…and he didn't care if he slept for a week. His spark still felt stress from losing his best friend…so why should he care anymore what the other Decepticons thought?

Well…he was starting to care how one of them thought and he couldn't help it.

Nocturne.

Somehow, she was able to act as his main source of comfort. He never knew of another Decepticon, especially a killer like her, to be so caring towards him. She almost put off that air those humans called a 'mothering instinct'. She was so different from them all…and he actually liked that.

A hand came out and touched Knock Out on his cheekplate, causing his optics to online and open to see who the servo belonged to. He glanced up and saw the faceplate that belonged to the femme he had now come to trust.

"Knock Out…you can't sleep all day."

"Please Nocturne…let me be alone."

"I let you be alone for a week, and this has to stop." She paused to let out a sad sigh. "I told you that I'm going to help you through this. You just have to trust me."

The red mech looked away for a moment. "Something tells me that's not the reason you came to my quarters…"

The femme knew he was right; she came to see him for a different reason. Her optics went downward and her lip components formed into a frown. "…Megatron's sending me to confront the Autobots at the new mine."

Knock Out immediately shot up from his berth. "B-But you've only just mastered transforming, and you don't have a blaster! Does Megatron really expect you to take on the Autobots by yourself!?"

"I'll have some troops with me…and there's just two reported Autobots. Their names are…Bulkhead and Hawkeye, I think."

The medic's optics narrowed. "They're both ones to watch out for. Bulkhead is Breakdown's rival, and Hawkeye was formerly part of our ranks. But since they don't know you, they won't know what to expect. This is your first battle with an Autobot, though…so be careful."

A smile formed on Nocturne's lip components. "…Thank you for worrying about me."

Knock Out got up from the berth and proceeded to head for the medbay, while Nocturne went towards the main deck to be ready for departure. The femme hated to leave him in his state…but she had to follow orders. Following orders meant staying alive. Staying alive meant being able to help her doctor. Helping her doctor meant getting answers to her past. But…she also wanted to help him to show she cared for him. And…she was starting to care deeply. So she needed to survive a battle with two Autobots, one whose power matched Breakdown's and another who knew Decepticon weaknesses.

Hawkeye…the former Decepticon. Nocturne learned that she was found by Starscream and served the Decepticons until an incident involving Megatron and the Seeker. She went so far as to rip off her insignia at the abandoned mine, an indication that she no longer worked for Megatron, and sought refuge with Optimus Prime. Well…with the way the tyrant acted, who could blame her? With Hawkeye on the Autobot battalion, she gave them secrets about the Decepticons, though not all because she wasn't fully trusted to begin with. The femme wondered what it would be like to combat someone like her as she and some Eradicons walked through the spacebridge portal and to the scene of the potential battle.

Well…she was about to get her answer.

"Another 'Con!?" Bulkhead shouted with wide optics. "How many 'Cons are crawling around on this planet!?"

Hawkeye blinked her optics behind her yellow see-through visor. "Bulkhead…something's off about that Decepticon."

"What do you mean by 'off'?"

"I don't know…but it seems like she doesn't have the slightest clue as to what she's doing."

Bulkhead smirked. "Then maybe that'll give us an advantage. Still…you know the 'Cons better than me." He paused and brought out his wrecking ball. "I'll take the lackeys, and you take care of the noob."

Hawkeye in-turn smirked and brought out her cyber-rifles. "With pleasure."

Nocturne saw the two Autobots running towards her, so she thrust out her arm and brought out her odd blade before shouting to the Eradicons, "Attack!"

The Eradicons charged for Bulkhead while Nocturne, though nervous, decided to go for the traitor. Hawkeye seemed to have the same thing in mind; it was good to have a new challenge coming from her ex-allies. Bulkhead probably expected a full-blown what humans called a 'cat fight', like with what he saw between Arcee and Airachnid. But these two femmes didn't know each other; this Decepticon was very new to them like Dreadwing. Neither knew what to expect from this femme, especially with that sinister blade…

"So the 'Cons have yet another new member, huh?" Hawkeye questioned her opponent. "You guys are just crawling around this rock like roaches."

Nocturne frowned. "Look who's talking. If I recall, you were once one of us."

"Well, I guess you make up for Breakdown's loss, and I never counted Airachnid as a true foe." She paused and grabbed Nocturne's fist. "So where is it you came from?"

Nocturne growled and threw herself and the black femme onto the ground as they proceeded to roll down the nearby embankment. Bulkhead saw this but he was too preoccupied by the Eradicons to help his comrade. The two femmes landed in a muddy trench and fought to throw one off the other. But Hawkeye had the most experience of a good brawl, so she had Nocturne pinned.

"It's rude not to answer a question when someone asks you one. Now tell me how you got here!"

The Decepticon shook her head and bared her fangs. "Why should I tell you? Why does it even matter to you, anyway!? We're all just meant to destroy each other, aren't we?"

"You've been listening to Megajunk's garbage rhetoric too much. I'd tell you where I came from…but I don't remember." Hawkeye stated with unusual enthusiasm.

Nocturne wondered just what was up with his ex-Decepticon. Well…at least she now knew she had at least one thing in common with Hawkeye. A small smile of relief flashed on her faceplate before she muttered, "…Neither can I…"

Hawkeye's optics widened but she didn't loosen her grip. A smirk formed on her lip components and she stared at Nocturne straight into her optics. Did the Decepticons find a lot of amnesiacs these days? Or were there more amnesiacs than usual for both sides to find? Either way…things would be interesting. That started when Hawkeye leaned in closer and asked casually, "So…what DO you remember?"

"Why should I tell an enemy?"

"Well it's not often I meet a fellow amnesiac. All I remember is my name and that I had to have come from Cybertron, from what Ratchet determined. What about you?"

The Decepticon sighed and loosened her grip, a sign that she didn't want to fight anymore. "I…I don't remember anything about my life…but I do remember that I was once a…a human."

The Autobot shot up from her enemy and they were both spattered with mud. "How's that even possible? Were you an experiment?"

"I told you…I don't remember anything else."

Hawkeye frowned. "…I guess so." She paused and made her way to going up the embankment. "I'll let you live this time, Decepticon. But next time…one of us is headed for the scrap yard. Until then…why not do some thinking on whether or not you chose the right side?"

Nocturne just stared in silence as the black femme met up with the green mech to collect whatever they needed to at the sight and return to base. She pretty much knew that Bulkhead eliminated the Eradicons, so once the Autobots left she would feed on her dead soldiers. It was mortifying…but what else was she supposed to do? She had to eat to survive, after all. But she was even more troubled by the words spoken by Hawkeye. Now that she thought about it…had she really chosen the right side? Then again, the choice was pretty much made for her by Knock Out.

Knock Out…he must be pretty worried about her right now, wondering if she survived the battle. He was starting to let it out more and more that he actually seemed to care about her well-being and still made an effort to keep her 'condition' a secret from the other Decepticons. Should it really be called a condition? No…it was more fitting of a curse. A curse she didn't deserve; whoever did this to her obviously had some sick goal in mind. And so she could only talk to Knock Out. Megatron would declare her a threat and kill her, if he didn't find out first. If not him, then probably Dreadwing or Soundwave. Airachnid…well, she didn't have to worry about her anymore since she went rogue once again. But with the doubts circling in her processor…maybe pretty soon she would be number four on the desertion list.

Nocturne got out of the embankment and found the bodies of the fallen Eradicons. Clarifying that Bulkhead and Hawkeye were gone, she quickly drank before the Energon hit the ground and spoiled. Her way of eating was repulsive enough, but she wouldn't be so desperate as to lick Energon off the dirt like a pig. Knock Out would be absolutely disgusted and stare at her like an oversized germ.

Funny…that thought cheered her up. She hadn't felt this happy since she hugged Knock Out from behind.

It was strange that her spark suddenly started to race at the thought of the red mech. It wasn't from a fear of him…but more of affection towards him. Was it love? Or was it more like some high school crush that would all be for naught?

Maybe that would be something they could talk about once she got back…


	6. Dropping Your Guard

Author's Note: This is my first one, but I'll be putting them on as of now. Anyway, due to this chapter, I'm probably going to change the rating, but this will be the only chapter with this much...'detail'. If anyone thinks different or thinks the same, jut let me know! Anyway, enjoy! -

Chapter 6: Dropping Your Guard

"Knock Out…what is wrong with Nocturne that she is STILL in your care?" Megatron asked with his back turned to the red mech.

Knock Out stood stoically and cleared his vocal processor. "Well, it's just that I'm trying to help her recover her memories through whatever means necessary."

"And let me guess…" The tyrant began before turning dangerously towards the smaller Decepticon. "NOTHING is working?"

"…N-Nothing yet, Lord Megatron. But…give me enough time-"

Megatron bared his denta. "YOU'VE HAD YOUR TIME TO 'CURE' HER! Nocturne is a soldier, not one of your guinea pigs! Either find a way to recover her memories quickly or don't bother with her anymore! You have more important duties as is!"

For a moment, the medic lost all control over his emotions. "More important than helping a fellow Decepticon!?"

The tyrant growled. "You dare talk back to me, Knock Out!?"

Knock Out backed away quickly. "N-No, Lord Megatron. J-Just a slip of the glossa, that's all…"

Megatron snorted and turned away from the red mech once again. "Pay better attention to that next time…or you will end up like all those who tried to defy me. Now get back to your duties."

"Y-Yes, Lord Megatron…"

Knock Out slowly walked back to the medbay and felt all of his emotions creating a violent turbulence inside both his spark and his processor. Megatron was pushing him around like a ragdoll and now he was telling him to give up on a patient. Sure, he was a Decepticon and he was self-centered, but it was in his code as a medic to help all patients, which included Nocturne. But he never got so worked up over a patient until she came around, and it almost made Megatron fire his fusion cannon at him.

What was wrong with him? After he did a checkup on Nocturne, he was going to analyze his own systems.

Speaking of Nocturne, she was busying herself in her quarters by lying on her berth and holding in her fingers a closed chalice of Energon extracted from a now-dead Eradicon. Knock Out gave it to her as a way to stave off any bothersome hunger if there were no Eradicons he could get her. But she felt conflicted as to whether or not to drink it like a glass of wine. Fortunately, she wasn't hungry right now, so she could save it.

Still…every bit of this 'curse' was unsavory.

"Nocturne…do you have a moment?"

The femme glanced up at the door to her quarters and saw Knock Out standing in plain view. She rose up from her berth and walked to the doorway, taking notice of the look on the mech's face. It read with so many emotions, anger and helplessness mostly, that she didn't really know what was going on with him. Nevertheless, if he had a problem, that's what she was there for: to help.

"Knock Out, are you feeling okay?"

The medic huffed out a heated sigh. "Well…the next time you come for a 'checkup'…that'll be the last."

Nocturne's optics flashed. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"…Megatron ordered me to stop seeing you unless I can really help you with your memories. Of course…I think he's starting to become suspicious and is trying to figure out what's REALLY going on…"

"Do you think he's noticed the drop in the number of Eradicons?"

"If he hasn't, then Soundwave has and reported it to him. That drone serves as his eyes and ears; we hardly ever get any privacy because Megatron's so paranoid about traitors…"

Nocturne cast her optics to the floor. "Then this is bad. Still…we have to do something. I don't want to live like this forever, and I feel like you're the only one who can help me. Knock Out…there has to be a way…"

The red mech brought his finger up to his chin and began to quietly ponder. If he disobeyed Megatron, he would possibly be demoted or even terminated…but at the same time, Nocturne was his patient, and needless to say, she was becoming his favorite patient. But a thought hit him. There was one person who could possibly help the femme with her predicament, and it would be a way to prove if the rumors were true.

Mimicus Prime. Rumors were going around that the former Decepticon and Megatron's daughter wasn't dead after all, not after some of the troops stated they saw a familiar pink Autobot roaming around. With that Key of hers, the youngling could possibly be able to restore Nocturne's memories. However, this would be a risky plan…and it would probably end up with the both of them betraying the Decepticons. Still…

"Knock Out…do you have any ideas?" Nocturne interrupted.

The medic snapped out of his thoughts and decided it would be wise to share them with her. After all…it was for her sake. "Well…I have an idea, but it's risky."

"How risky?"

"Risky enough that we would be branded traitors."

The femme swallowed hard. "…A-All right. What is it?"

"Somewhere on this planet is a youngling named Mimicus Prime. She's Megatron's long-lost daughter and-"

"Megatron's DAUGHTER!?" Nocturne cut in.

Knock Out frowned. "Let me finish explaining. Rumor has it she's still alive and joined the Autobots but recently went neutral alongside Starscream. Mimicus has an object with her that could potentially cure you and restore your memories."

The femme's optics brightened. "So if we find her…then my suffering will go away…"

"Yes…IF we find her. Rumors always have the potential to be proven ludicrous, so don't get your hopes up."

That didn't deter Nocturne one bit. Her lip components formed into a smile and her body started to vibrate with enthusiastic energy. "Still, just the possibility… Oh, thank you so much, Knock Out! I don't know what I'd do without you!"

Knock Out looked away for a moment just to hide the amusement on his face before he turned back and answered, "W-Well, I'm just doing my job as a doc-"

The red mech was cut off when the femme pressed her lip components to his. His ruby optics flashed with surprise at first…but then he slowly closed them and fully took in and even returned the kiss. The two of them broke away for just a moment to step back and collapse on the berth. They pressed their mouths together once again as they realized now that all bets were off. Knock Out reached over and played with the braided wires on the back of Nocturne's helm that resembled human hair. Nocturne placed her hands on his back tires in return.

"Is this a reward for treating you? I have to admit, you've been a good patient…" Knock Out huskily whispered.

"And I have to admit you're a good doctor…" Nocturne added. "I think I remember that I was a virgin until now…"

Knock Out actually liked that thought. He heard of femmes he once laid down with that were anything but pure; one he considered bonding with actually had fifteen former sparkmates. There was even a time, due to a dare by his former friend Tracks, that he actually recharge with another mech. He should've been disgusted by it, but for some reason he wasn't. Maybe Nocturne was right; maybe he was what humans called 'bisexual'.

Nocturne…if she really was a virgin, she was completely different from the ones he dared to interface with. She was the type that never seemed to interface but knew what she was about to do and how to do it. Maybe the virgin claim was just a ruse…or she came from a place where witnessing a sexual encounter was an everyday thing, such as some of those rundown brothel-infested countries on this Primus-forsaken planet.

Well if she learned how to perform without actually performing, he was willing to see if she could become a pro.

"Nocturne…if you would be a dear as to remove my crotchplate…"

The femme stared at the plating between Knock Out's legs for a long moment before temptation flooded her body and she began working on removing the plate and discovering whatever was underneath it. The mech in-turn placed his hands on her thighs and started to caress the plating between the luscious slabs of metal. Nocturne finished removing Knock Out's crotchplate and examined everything she saw…everything she had to take in, especially with the fact she knew where it was going after the mech removed her plating.

"Something tells me you done this before…" Nocturne commented.

"Well, something tells me you know the techniques but never performed a single one." He paused and opened his chest plating to expose his spark. "So I'll be the teacher and you just be the horny student."

The femme smiled, baring her fangs, and exposed her own spark. "Shall we get started, Doctor?"

Knock Out was the first to make his move, placing himself inside Nocturne and getting a yelp, typical of the inexperienced femme. He saw his own spark pulse with erotic excitement, the bright blue orb getting brighter and digging more into its chamber. Nocturne's spark, an unusual green, joined into the fray to beat in-sync with his. He could almost hear animalistic growls coming from her vocal processor, which made moans emit from his to add both pleasure and pain.

"What do you say we take it to the next level?" The medic asked as he leaned in closer to the aroused femme.

Nocturne mustered a smile and her optics narrowed with awaiting anticipation. "You're the expert. Let me see what you can do."

"As you wish…"

Knock Out fully leaned forward and pressed his spark to hers, both pulsing enough that it started to hurt the both of them. But they didn't care; pleasure outweighed pain. All of the things that caused them pain, Breakdown's death, Nocturne's murderous appetite, left their processors for just this time. For now…all they cared about was getting inside each other.

It didn't take long for the both of them to overload enough that they both fell into a deep recharge…

Knock Out was the first to awaken, finding Nocturne lying on his chestplate still in recharge. Just how long had he been out? Well, it probably didn't matter; it's not like there were any important missions coming up. It was basically either fight the Autobots or mine Energon. Needless to say, boring as usual. He looked at the femme and stroked his fingers under her optics, causing them to twitch. He brought up his arm monitor and looked at the time. Huh…it was past midnight. His optics went back to Nocturne and he pulled her close. The realization that Breakdown was gone hit him again…and he never realized now his needs were towards this amnesia femme until he stared at her face.

"_Ich liebe dich_…" Knock Out spoke as he pulled Nocturne closer and fell back into recharge.


	7. Transmission

Author's Note: Hello again. Here is where the story starts to take a more ominous turn. And it may point more into who...or rather WHAT, Nocturne really is. And the song lyrics used are from "Never Close Our Eyes" by Adam Lambert.

Chapter 7: Transmission

"Can you believe what those Autobots did to me!?"

Nocturne perked up when she heard the familiar voice coming from the main deck. Knock Out was back from his mission…and he apparently failed it. All of the Decepticons had been sent to various corners of the Earth to search for things called 'Iacon relics'. The femme had just gotten back from such a mission in South Africa…and had yet another encounter with Hawkeye. The Autobot convinced her yet again to think about the side she needed to be on and actually allowed her to have the relic, the Jet Drive of Avianis Prime.

But even with victory, Nocturne still felt uneasy by Hawkeye's words.

'Do you really believe in Megatron's rhetoric? Or…is there another reason you're staying with the 'Cons? Maybe a certain medic? Ask yourself this: do you think he's happy where he is?'

When she got back she basically tossed the relic to the nearest Eradicon and went straight to her quarters to wait for Knock Out. But with the way he sounded when he returned from his mission made her worry. If he failed it…what would Megatron do to him? It was also apparent that the only one with success was Soundwave, who she knew was currently in the medbay being examined by Knock Out. Even compared to Dreadwing, Megatron showed high favor towards the silent mech, probably because she heard he was one of the first to join the tyrant's cause. Nocturne didn't trust Soundwave in the least and kept her distance from him.

And then came the explosion down the hall.

Nocturne jumped to her pedes and raced out of her quarters to see what caused the noise. Did an Autobot plant a bomb without notice? Was Knock Out hurt? Did Megatron fire at one of the others? She got her answer when she saw a smoldering blotch on the floor and a set of coughs nearby. The femme turned the corner slowly and loudly gasped at the sight befalling her. Knock Out was covered in black burns that barely masked the thousands of scratches and dents in his frame, apparently what he was shouting about just a few minutes ago. She barely recognized him until he stared shouting curses in Cybertronian.

"…Knock Out, what happened to you?"

The red mech glanced at her before turning away abruptly. "Don't even look at me! I'm so HIDEOUS! And it's all thanks to those fragging Autobots and their human worms!" He paused and slammed his fist into the metal wall. "Of course Soundwave has to be the successful one and now I'm turning into the brunt of all the ACCIDENTS that happen around here!"

The femme went up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, but that just made him more upset, which he indicated by throwing her hand off of him. But she wouldn't give up. She placed her hand on him again and traced her fingers over some of the deep scratches.

"Knock Out…how you look on the outside doesn't change the fact that I still think you're the most handsome mech I've certainly ever met."

Knock Out frowned. "…You're just saying that…"

"No, I really mean it." She paused and placed her hand on his back strut. "Let's go to your quarters and see if I can get you cleaned up."

Knock Out slowly nodded and allowed Nocturne to take his hand and lead him to his quarters. He didn't have anything else to protest if she was really willing to help him. He had some buffers in his quarters that could possibly get rid of the horrid scratches, and he imagined it would feel nice to have someone rub it in deep on his frame. Probably the few things that could make him feel better about himself were a good buffing and another round of interfacing with the femme. When it came to interfacing, Nocturne was a pure animal and he liked it. The two got into the quarters and the mech sat himself down on his berth while the femme rummaged through some bottles and canisters on a shelf.

"Where do you keep your buffers and scratch polishes?"

"The topmost shelf; you'll have to stand on the tips of your pedes."

Nocturne grabbed a few canisters and opened them to reveal an opaque cream-like substance. She took a handful of it and slowly rubbed it on Knock Out's frame. As she rubbed the polish in, the scratches slowly started to disappear. The mech stared at his improving frame and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"So…how did your mission go?" Knock Out asked out-of-the-blue.

Nocturne blinked her optics. "Well…the relic was practically handed to me. I had to face Hawkeye again…and she…she basically told me that I'm on the wrong side."

"All Autobots say that to the Decepticons; I'm not surprised. What surprises me is that she's taken such an interest in you. Hmm…probably because you both have amnesia, if hers hasn't been cured yet."

_I wish that this night would never be over_

_There's plenty of time to sleep when we die_

_So let's just stay awake until we grow older_

_If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes_

_Our eyes_

_Never_

"But what if she's right? What if…what if we're both on the wrong side of this so-called war? What if Megatron is wrong? Maybe the Decepticons have been pushing their ideals for so long that they've become misguided…"

The medic stared at the femme. "Nocturne…I've been fighting in this war for so long that now I don't know what I fight for anymore. Megatron's rhetoric has become so twisted…nothing makes sense. The only reason I ever stayed was because Breakdown was my friend and wanted me to stay. But with Breakdown dead, I've asked myself over and over what I have left… I think I have it figured out…" He paused and cupped Nocturne's face in his hand. "It's…you. You're the reason I want to stay…"

_I don't want to let a minute get away_

_'Cause we got no time to lose_

_None of us are promised to see tomorrow_

_And what we do is ours to choose_

"Knock Out…" Nocturne whispered before she finished polishing him.

The mech got up and took her hands to hold them up to her face. "Nocturne…I think it's possible to run away…to get away from Megatron. That way…I have a better chance of finding a cure for you."

"Like you said…we have to find Mimicus Prime for a possible answer. You're right…I think we can run away and make a fresh start."

_Forget about the sunrise_

_Fight the sleep in your eyes_

_I don't want to miss a second with you_

_Let's stay this way forever_

_It's only getting better_

_If we want it to_

The medic pulled the femme closer and stared at her face before allowing his lip components to lock with hers. It was a surprise to him that he allowed feelings like this to enter his spark. If anyone had asked him eons ago if he ever thought he would develop feelings for an amnesiac and vampiresque femme, he would've scoffed and berated them as an idiot. But now…that wouldn't be farfetched at all. Maybe he was developing feelings for Nocturne.

_You know that I wish that this night would never be over_

_There's plenty of time to sleep when we die_

_So let's just stay awake until we grow older_

_If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes_

_Our eyes_

_Never_

The two suddenly found themselves collapsed onto the berth; the same type of scene that occurred in Nocturne's quarters almost a week ago. Also like the last time, they took off certain parts of their plating and exposed their sparks in their spark chambers. Once again, the two expected this to be a regular form of celebratory interfacing.

But things would be a little different.

_It's so hard to think this could fade away_

_But what goes up must come down_

_Why can't we just live life with no consequence_

_And always live in the now_

As the two got engaged in their little activity, Nocturne didn't even realize the metallic tubing connecting her arm blade to the back of her helm started to quiver on its own like a frightened snake. She was just too busy locking lip components with Knock Out and allowing him inside her to notice anything more abnormal than herself. But the tubing kept quivering until the connection to her arm blade came off…along with the blade inside.

_Forget about the sunrise_

_Fight the sleep in your eyes_

_I don't want to miss a second with you_

_Let's stay this way forever_

_It's only getting better_

_If we want it to_

Knock Out didn't even notice what was going on because he had his optics closed and had himself buried in Nocturne's kiss. If he had them open, he would've seen the tubing and syringe-like blade coming closer towards him like a cross between a snake and a mosquito. If he had his optics open, he would've been able to push the thing away and help Nocturne get it back onto her arm.

But he didn't even have time to react.

_You know that I wish that this night would never be over_

_There's plenty of time to sleep when we die_

_So let's just stay awake until we grow older_

_If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes_

_Our eyes_

_Never_

Without warning, the syringe-like blade slipped out of its hiding place and quickly struck Knock Out in the leg. His optics shot open and he broke away from his kiss with Nocturne to cry out in pain. The femme blinked in surprise until she started to smell fresh Energon. Of course, she had to restrain herself from going into a feeding frenzy. The two of them got up and closed up their plating and looked to see Knock Out's leg bleeding.

"Nocturne, what the frag was that for!?"

"W-What are you talking about…?" She paused and saw her arm blade and metal tubing loose and slithering through the air, but she didn't feel anything from it for some reason. "H-How did that happen…?"

_Ooohh…_

_Yeah…_

_Ooohh…_

_Yeah…_

"Honestly Nocturne, you need to take better care of your weaponry! You could poke someone's optic out if you don't get it under control!" Knock Out lectured as he wiped the stray Energon off his leg.

"…I-I'm sorry… Knock Out…are you sure you're okay? You should probably do a scan on yourself once you get the chance…"

Knock Out waved his hand in front of her. "I'm all right. Let's just take a break from interfacing; you probably just got a little too excited."

"All right…"

_You know that I wish that this night would never be over_

_There's plenty of time to sleep when we die_

_So let's just stay awake until we grow older_

_If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes_

_Our eyes_

_Never_

On the main deck, Megatron was busying himself with going over the new set of coordinates for the Iacon relics. As he carefully mapped them out, he felt a shadow approach him…and he knew immediately who it was. It was probably the only other Decepticon he could trust.

"You wish to share something with me, Soundwave?" He asked lowly.

Soundwave nodded and displayed footage he recorded some time ago…and every bit of it involved Nocturne. Megatron watched, with his anger slowly building, as each piece of footage showed Nocturne attacking the Eradicons and drinking their Energon. In some pieces of footage, it seemed the Eradicons were beckoned to gather at the places they would die. The last piece of footage showed Nocturne turning to the ceiling, with a smile on her faceplate, as she licked her lip components clean of fresh Energon.

"So…it seems we have a parasite in our midst. The last thing we need on this ship…is a Predacon…"


	8. Infection

Author's Note: Gonna be short and sweet. Knock Out's feeling a little strange, and after some encouragement from Nocturne, gives himself an examination to find the probable cause...and that cause brands them with a death sentence from Megatron. Now they must hurry and escape the Decepticons!

Chapter 8: Infection

Knock Out felt like a heaping mound of slag and he didn't know why. He felt that his Energon levels were dropping to lower readings than usual and he felt an unusual desire to take in more fuel. Right now he was busying himself on repairing Dreadwing's exposed wires in his arm but felt like he couldn't muster enough energy to focus. Nocturne was helping him with the procedure and it didn't take much for her to notice the medic's lack of true focus.

"Knock Out, you're about to fall asleep standing up again." The femme stated in a firm voice.

The red mech jerked his head up and sighed. "I'm…just fine, Nocturne. Just…just a little tired."

"Is Dreadwing well enough to wait on full repairs until you get some rest?"

"N-No…I may as well fix him up now…"

The femme handed the medic some tools before turning away from the large mech. Lately…all of the other Decepticons had been looking at her differently. They had been looking at her with pure contempt, about like when she first became a Decepticon. She didn't want to think about it, but was there a possibility that someone found out the truth about her? There was only one who had the capability.

Soundwave.

The drone must have spied on her at one point, whether on the ship or on the field…or even both. If she wanted to keep her secret, she had no choice: she had to kill Soundwave. Besides, he would probably make a more substantial meal. But right now…her biggest concern was for Knock Out. It was strange…but he hadn't acted unwell until after her blade struck him in the leg like a hypodermic needle.

Was it possible she infected him with something?

"Are you almost finished, Doctor?" Dreadwing asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.

Knock Out rolled his optics and carefully placed a new plate over his joints and wires and welding it shut. "There…good as new. Now if you please Dreadwing…take your leave."

Dreadwing blinked his optics before scowling and nodding as he headed out of the medbay door. Once the door closed with a hiss, Nocturne abruptly turned to the red mech, her green optics flashing and her lip components pressed loosely together.

"Knock Out, I'm worried. I think you're coming down with something…"

Knock Out just scoffed. "Nocturne, I already said I'm fine. Please…just stop worrying about me."

"But I can't help but worry about you." She pulled a canister of high-grade off of a nearby shelf. "Here…drink this and maybe it'll perk you up."

How could he refuse with her pathetically-beautiful face? With a deep sigh, he took the canister from the femme and twisted the top off. He moved the canister around, stirring the Energon, before bringing the opening to his mouth and taking a long drink. The first drink hit the spot…but when he went for a few more sips, it started to form an aftertaste, and high-grade never did that before. Another drink…still a bitter taste on his glossa. The taste became so bitter it was downright nauseating. He never felt such turmoil going on in his fuel tank, not unless he went on a high-grade binge. But he only had this one canister of high-grade.

He was also feeling one of the side-effects of a binge without the binge.

The red mech dropped the canister on the floor, spilling the leftover Energon in it, and soon found his helm buried inside a nearby waste bin. Nocturne grimaced but nevertheless went over and massaged his back struts. After a few moments of the medbay being filled with the sounds of Knock Out's retching, the medic finally finished and found himself sitting on the floor right next to the waste bin.

"…Nocturne…I've never been this sick before…" Knock Out moaned.

"I told you that you were probably coming down with something." She leaned forward and helped him to his pedes. "Come on, let's get you on the berth so I can do an examination."

Knock Out frowned. "You can't do that; you're not programmed to be a medic. I'll do a scan on myself…"

To his surprise, the femme rolled her optics and placed her hands on her hips. "Doctors make the worst patients… They think they know everything when they really don't."

"Excuse me? Hmph, you talk like you've had experience with this…"

After the mech said that, Nocturne fell silent for a moment. Something came to her, triggered by his stubbornness, that she never thought of or felt before. Letting out a deep sigh, she offlined her optics and allowed whatever this was to come into her processor like it needed to. Huh…maybe she DID have prior experience.

_'Nurse, just make sure that the paperwork gets done on time. I'm able to take care of myself if it's just a cold; I'm one of the head physicians, after all!'_

_'Hmph…doctors make the worst patients. They think they know everything when they really don't.'_

When she opened her optics, whatever that was suddenly disappeared. Was it a memory from the past she so desperately wanted to recover? Or was it something that just never happened? Putting that aside, she stared at Knock Out and pursed her lip components.

"Knock Out…let me perform a scan. I've seen you perform so many on me that I know how to get everything started. Just quit being stubborn and let me help you…"

The red mech could only pout…not because he was going to put up a fight about it, but because he knew he was being an oversized sparkling when he knew she was right. With an undetectable sigh of defeat, he muttered, "Fine…go on and fire up the scanner…"

Nocturne felt a smile form on her lip components in victory before she turned the scanner on and placed the analysis screen hovering over the mech. She typed in a few commands into the keyboard, causing the machine to flash on and the screen to hover up and down Knock Out's frame. The femme watched the main computer screen as the data slowly started streaming in. As the data streamed in, an image of Knock Out's frame and schematics appeared on the screen for the femme to analyze. She was familiar with this; whenever the mech scanned her, the schematics that detailed her insides always showed up on-screen. Once the scanning process reached 100 percent, it didn't take but a few seconds later for something else to show up…something much unexpected in bold and capital letters.

ABNORMALITY DETECTED.

Knock Out propped himself up to see the words on the screen flashing in red, causing his spark to start racing and his fuel tank to flip-flop. He had been at the monitor before finding abnormalities in the patients he had over the eons…but he never expected the abnormalities to be coming from him this time. Fighting to keep his voice steady, he spoke out, "…Nocturne…determine where the abnormality is coming from…"

The femme typed in a few commands once again and the image zoomed into a particular part of the mech's anatomy. The problem was found to be somewhere in his lower abdominal region, above his pelvic joints. The scanning monitor hovered over Knock Out once again but stayed still as it brought in a full proximity scan of the trouble region. The scan took just a few seconds before Nocturne narrowed her optics and gasped.

"Knock Out…it looks like some type of cyst. But…a cyst that small making you so sick…"

And then came the sound.

LUB-DUPP…LUB-DUPP…LUB-DUPP.

"Knock Out…w-what is that? W-Where is it coming from…?"

Knock Out gulped. "…A sparkbeat…and it's not mine…and I know it's not yours…"

The femme's optics widened, a sense of horror mixed with some sense of joy. "Knock Out…is it…"

The mech abruptly got up from the berth and rushed for the exit. "…L-Let's not get into details about it… I-I need some fresh air…"

Nocturne knew it wouldn't be smart to let Knock Out be by himself. As much as he didn't want her to, she stuck right by him. They passed several Eradicons, who took notice of how distressed the medic looked and how much the femme stayed with him. That femme always scared them, especially with the rumors…

"Knock Out, wait!" Nocturne shouted before stopping behind him. "Look…whatever this thing is, we need to deal with it and…maybe find a way to get it out of you…"

Knock Out stared at her with a trace of bitterness. "…You act like everything's going to be just peachy. Well…what if it's not!? What if this…this…THING eats me away from the inside out!?"

"So it's not a coincidence that you are ill, Knock Out."

Knock Out and Nocturne turned around and saw Megatron standing with Dreadwing and Soundwave at his sides. Just the look he was giving them, especially towards the femme, told the pair that they were in a heaping load of trouble. Nocturne stared at Soundwave's blank face and growled; so this had to be HIS doing.

"L-Lord Megatron…" Knock Out sputtered.

"So Nocturne infected you with something? Knock Out…what were you thinking, bringing a Predacon aboard MY SHIP!?"

The medic blinked his bewildered optics. "P-Predacon…?"

"It's no secret that you fell ill after interfacing with that FILTHY being! To make matters worse, she's responsible for the slaughter of countless troops! Thankfully, Soundwave was able to record your killing spree, you wretched beast!" Megatron paused and warmed up his fusion cannon. "Now…the both of you shall prepare yourselves for termination. We cannot afford to let whatever ailment you have to spread!"

Nocturne stepped forward and gulped. After a few seconds, she muttered, "Knock Out…get to the groundbridge…"

"W-What…?"

The femme brought out her appendage blade and growled at the tyrant. "Get to the groundbridge and get out of here! I'll hold them off!"

Knock Out bolted down the hall and watched as Nocturne swiped at Megatron with the nerve-like blade, cutting him on the chest. A strange green liquid coated the cut and Megatron immediately felt dizzy. The femme moved on to biting Dreadwing and Soundwave on the necks and draining enough of their Energon to render them anemic and powerless. She also bit Megatron on the neck and took Energon as a precaution, but his tasted horrible. Trying to spit the bitter taste out of her mouth, Nocturne rushed after Knock Out and knocked past any Eradicons that tried to hinder their escape. She found the red mech frantically activating the groundbridge and making sure the other Decepticons wouldn't dig up the coordinates.

"Let's get out of here!" Knock Out shouted before grabbing Nocturne's hand.

The two stared at the portal for a moment before jumping through, the portal disappearing behind them. They ended up landing in a rocky canyon with the sun setting behind them. Knock Out breathed a sigh of relief before a retch caught his attention. He looked to see Nocturne hunched over and vomiting a purple substance. Dark Energon…

"You bit Megatron, didn't you? Dark Energon makes just about anyone violently ill…"

"I had to…just to make sure he wouldn't chase us… I also bit Dreadwing and Soundwave. So…we're in the clear."

"For now…" Knock Out added solemnly. "…Where do we go now? The ship was our only home…"

"Knock Out…this is all my fault… I'm so sorry that you got caught up in this…"

To her surprise, the medic shook his helm. "Nocturne…I chose to be in this situation when I took you as my patient. Don't put all the blame on yourself." He stared at the setting sun with tired optics. "Still…we need shelter…"

Nocturne bit her lip component before an idea came to her. Yeah, it was risky…but what else could they do? She turned to Knock Out and asked, "…Do you think we can get in touch with the Autobots?"

"The Autobots!? Why them!? We could just strike out fine by ourselves!"

"Knock Out!" Nocturne unexpectedly snarled. "We have to find out what that thing is inside you! There's no one else we can turn to!"

The mech bit his lip components and narrowed his optics. He cast them to the ground and muttered, "…Fine…"


	9. Nasty Surprises

Author's Note: In this chapter, Knock Out and Nocturne have no choice but to seek help from the Autobots to get the medical attention the mech needs. But what they discover is highly disturbing, something no one has ever seen in Cybertronian medical history.

Chapter 9: Nasty Surprises

"Optimus, I'm getting a coded message from an unknown sender."

"Bring it up on-screen, Ratchet."

Ratchet nodded and keyed in a few commands, causing text to appear on the main computer monitor. At the same time, Hawkeye ventured in to see what was going on out of pure curiosity. She could see the message from a distance and her optics widened behind her sunglasses.

"Optimus…this message is from Knock Out! He's sending a request of asylum for himself and someone named 'Nocturne'…"

"Nocturne…" Hawkeye cut in. "That's the new 'Con. Though…she doesn't act like one. Sounds like those two got into some trouble with Megatron and need our help."

"But why would they ask US for help?" Ratchet asked with skepticism.

Optimus frowned and spent a moment pondering before he decided to answer. "I believe they see us as the only ones to turn to. Despite being enemies…if they wish to seek asylum for a good reason, we must not turn them away. Ratchet…open the groundbridge to the coordinates in the message."

"I hope you're right, Optimus…" Ratchet sighed as he activated the groundbridge.

Hawkeye couldn't help herself; she actually ran though to see if the two needed any help. Optimus and Ratchet just stared at each other until the black femme came back with the two Decepticons in tow. Knock Out was obviously shaken up, and the femme next to him seemed a little calmer than he was, but was nevertheless disturbed. Ratchet took notice of the way his Decepticon counterpart was clutching his lower abdominal paneling and sporting a pained face. The femme walked up to Optimus and bowed her helm.

"…You must be Optimus Prime…it's an honor to meet you. My name is Nocturne…" She glanced over at Knock Out. "Megatron tried to kill us, but we escaped. And…I need your doctor to take a look at Knock Out. We…found something inside him…"

Optimus sensed no ulterior motives in Nocturne; in fact, he didn't sense anything evil about her at all. And Knock Out actually did look ill. He turned to Ratchet and stated, "Ratchet, get Knock Out into the medbay and do an examination. Also examine Nocturne as a precaution."

"Yes, sir."

Just a few moments later, Ratchet had Knock Out and Nocturne on separate berths. The Autobot medic called in his colleague Serlena to assist him with examining the two; he would take Knock Out, she would take Nocturne. Optimus and Hawkeye stood by in the background; the ones still unaware were Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, and their human companions. If Arcee and Bulkhead didn't flip out, Agent Fowler probably would, given the fact they were sheltering two Decepticons.

Ratchet was finishing up his scan of the red mech's systems as Serlena finished drawing Energon from the femme. The Arcadian medic plugged the Energon samples into the CNA analyzer and waited for the results, using the waiting time to join Ratchet in Knock Out's scan. The two Autobot medics stared at the incoming information, and, once it was finished, their optics widened into saucers.

"By Arcadius…how is this possible…?" Serlena murmured.

"That's what I would like to know, Serlena…" Ratchet added.

Knock Out sat up on the berth and asked in a weak voice, "W-What's wrong…? What's wrong with me…?"

Ratchet's optics darted back and forth between the screen and the red mech before he decided to answer. "Knock Out…I don't know how else to say it…but…that's not a cyst…"

"T-Then what is it!? Is it a systems malfunction!?"

"No…it's…it's a sparkling."

Nocturne shot up from her berth and walked forward cautiously, not noticing Hawkeye coming into the fray along with Optimus. "Sparkling…y-you mean…a baby?"

"Yes, that's how humans refer to offspring." Serlena concluded. "And for you to refer to it as that seems to give some truth to your claim of once being human. Anyway…" She paused and brought up the results of the Energon tests. "According to these…it seems you have the ability to infect other Cybertronians with parasitic embryos…as a form of a built-in survival mechanism."

"Survival mechanism?" Ratchet questioned before the realization hit him. "Oh…a mechanism that ensures she can maintain a legacy by passing on her genetic materials through infection."

"Another thing I found that was disturbing…your body is filled with all sorts of bio-material…both good and bad. And the fact that you have to drink Energon from living beings to survive…I've never seen a survival mechanism such as that…"

The analyses of the situation were cut short when Knock Out screamed and shoved Nocturne to the ground. The femme stared up at the red mech with hurt optics and she timidly asked, "…Knock Out…?"

"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME!?" Knock Out wailed. "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS!?"

"K-Knock Out…I'm sorry…I didn't mean for this to happen…" The femme mumbled.

"Thanks to you…I'm wanted for dead by Megatron and the other Decepticons! And I have to go on knowing that this…this PARASITE is growing inside me!"

"…"

"What, you have nothing to say in your defense!?"

Hawkeye stomped forward and slapped Knock Out's cheekplate with her open palm. His tirade abruptly ended as he placed his hand over his cheekplate and stared at the black femme. He also cast his optics downward when he heard quiet sobs coming from Nocturne's vocal processor. He looked at her green optics and saw lubricant streaming from them and her lip components trembling. Now he felt guilty for yelling at her; she really didn't mean for any of this to happen at all.

"Now go…and comfort each other before I decide to send you back to Megatron." Hawkeye warned.

Knock Out didn't need to be told twice. He kneeled in front of Nocturne and took hold of her hands, causing her sobs to stop and for her optics to lock with his.

"Nocturne…we'll make this work."

"Knock Out…I'm so sorry…"

The red mech placed his finger over her lip components. "…Don't apologize."

Ratchet glanced away before he decided to address the two Decepticons again. "Knock Out…I would remove the spark if you wanted me to…but I can't. With its structure…trying to remove it would possibly cause your own termination. So…you need to let it gestate to full term…"

That wasn't the news he wanted to hear…but he had to do what needed to be done. Besides, Ratchet was a fellow medic…he knew what he was doing.

"…I understand…"

"Optimus, Ratchet, what's going on?" A female voice called out.

The Autobot leader and medic turned to see the other Autobots and their human companions entering the medbay. Scrap… Arcee and Bulkhead saw Knock Out and Nocturne and, with gasps escaping their mouths, they brought out their primary weapons and aimed them at the Decepticons.

"Optimus, what are Decepticons doing here!?"

"Cool it, Arcee!" Hawkeye warned. "They're here to hide from Megatron!"

"Hawk, they're 'Cons! There's no way we can trust them!" Bulkhead retorted.

"Well, you certainly trust me, and I used to be a 'Con! Give them a chance! Besides…I know it should be impossible…but Knock Out's sparked."

Bumblebee tilted his helm in confusion and beeped to ask if the black femme was pulling their legs. The look on her faceplate told them otherwise. Miko walked forward and crossed her arms with skepticism, something a bit unusual for her.

"So that means…Doc Knock's knocked up?"

"Pretty much." Serlena answered.

Knock Out blushed as a result of the human's words; 'knocked up' was just embarrassing. She could've just said 'with spark' or 'expecting'…but all of those would sound disturbing for him. Knock Out was a Decepticon. Knock Out was a mech. Knock Out hated sparklings. Nocturne, on the other hand, seemed to have some sort of affinity towards children, seeing as how she was now coddling the youngest human, Raf. And there was no way she would allow him to terminate the…sparkling.

"Knowing that we've got 'Con refugees in the base…Fowler's gonna throw a fit." Bulkhead muttered.

"I will speak with Agent Fowler on the matter. In the meantime…as long as Knock Out is in his condition…we will keep him and Nocturne safe from Megatron's grasp."

"To look at you guys for help, Megatron must be pretty determined to kill them." Jack commented. "But…why?"

Nocturne looked down. "…It's because I'm a living version of a vampire. I killed many of the Eradicon troops and drank their Energon. I went to Knock Out so he could try and cure me…and that's how we ended up in this mess."

"A robot vampire…that's pretty cool." Raf stated. "But I really feel bad for you because you hate being that way…"

"Thank you, young man…" Nocturne answered back before turning to Optimus. "Optimus Prime…thank you so much for providing us shelter. We promise not to cause any trouble. Just please…provide all the care you can for Knock Out; don't worry about me."

Optimus nodded. "We will provide the proper accommodations for the both of you. Also…please use this time to get to know our human allies…as it may change your views on this war."

Knock Out knew the Autobot leader was referring to him. He just crossed his arms over his chestplate and muttered with downcast optics, "…All right…"


	10. Symptomatic

Author's Note: Knock Out is still getting used to his 'condition' and everyone is now at the receiving end of his ever-changing mood. And, for a doctor, he hates taking medicine...

Chapter 10: Symptomatic

"Does Knock Out seem a little…giddy today?" Bulkhead asked with disturbance in his voice.

"I bet you anything it's going to turn into a homicidal rage again." Arcee muttered.

The green mech groaned and turned to the red and white mech. "Ratchet, KO's been like that for weeks! When is he supposed to stop purging all over the place, eating all our Energon, and having those 'mood swing' things?"

"It's all part of a natural cycle, Bulkhead…even though this is completely unnatural for a mech to experience this. But…"

"But what?" Arcee asked.

"I did another analysis on Nocturne. Due to the modifications in her body…she's incapable of bearing sparklings. Her immune system is much too volatile, and she's already filled with a few toxic substances. So her body would immediately terminate a sparkling; in fact it would immediately terminate Knock Out's genetic fluid. But she can inject a type of sparkling 'embryo' into another Cybertronian for them to carry. But these sparklings take a little more from the carrier than normal. So…we have to give Knock Out a little extra Energon to keep him from collapsing."

"Great…another mouth to feed." Bulkhead growled. "At least that Nocturne can feed herself on the battlefield.

"You have to admit, she's good at getting rid of Eradicons fast." Arcee agreed.

Back in the medbay, Nocturne sat in silence as she saw Knock Out in one of his moods again…he had many. Right now, he was in an all-too-giddy mood, and he was practically singing a merry tune, one he apparently got from Miko. The femme wanted to laugh, but knew the mech's mood was also unstable and flipped like a coin. Lately, he also demanded constant interfacing, something even she couldn't give him. And now without being surrounded by Eradicons, Nocturne found it increasingly difficult to feed.

"Oh Nocturne, isn't it exciting that we're having a sparkling?" Knock Out beamed with his visage burning bright. "I think it's about time we thought about getting our own quarters once it arrives!"

"O-Of course, Knock Out…" Nocturne quietly agreed. "Though it might be hard to find a place the Decepticons can't track."

All of a sudden, she saw the red mech rush towards her and grab her by the shoulderplates. Ah…now he was in his homicidal-rage mood. This switch in mood no longer surprised Nocturne, as she knew he didn't mean the things he said whenever he was angry.

"Nocturne, I can't believe you! Look what you did to me! LOOK AT ME! I'M FAT!"

The femme cast her green optics onto the bulge that formed on Knock Out's abdominal plating. It had only been a couple of months since they came to the Autobot base, but he was already starting to show. And that was something Knock Out hated: having his figured ruined slowly but surely. Anything that marred his frame was considered a sin…but this sin he simply couldn't buff out. He had to wait for it to get bigger and then find some way to purge it from his body. Who knows, it would probably rip its way out of him…

"…" Nocturne stayed silent.

Knock Out sighed and pinched the area between his optics. "…I'm sorry, Nocturne. I wish I could get my mood under control…"

"It's all right, Knock Out. I know you can't help it. At least you're not vomiting like you have been."

"Yes, but you've just seen how much my mood changes, and I can't stop gorging on Energon… But worst of all…I'm gaining weight…"

Nocturne offered up a sympathetic smile and massaged the mech's back struts. "Don't fret; just think of the end result. Our own little sparkling…"

"Sparkling…right…" Knock Out reluctantly agreed.

The femme's smile faded and she slowly took her hand away as her optics dimmed ever so slightly. "…Knock Out, what's the matter? Aren't you happy about it…?"

Knock Out didn't know what to say at first. He hated it that this thing was slowly taking over his body and wreaking havoc…but Nocturne seemed to really want to have a child of their own, even if the mech was the one carrying it. Swallowing hard, he answered, "…Of course…I…just didn't expect that I would be the one carrying it…"

The femme solemnly agreed. "I know. If my body were more compatible for it, I would probably be the one carrying it. I just want to know…why am I this way? Why was I made this way?"

"Nocturne, you're asking yourself too many questions right now. Don't think about that and just focus on keeping hidden from Megatron and his lackeys." Knock Out assured before he turned away and chuckled. "I wonder if he's found a new medic. Dreadwing and Soundwave wouldn't know a laser scalpel from a blaster."

"It's weird…there's been a large drop in the primary Decepticons, us included. Hawkeye, Starscream and Airachnid betrayed them, Breakdown was…killed, and we escaped. It makes me think they're going to grow more desperate."

The red mech nodded. "That's true…and when Megatron's desperate, who knows what he's capable of?" He stopped when an odd feeling came over him. "Nocturne…"

The femme locked optics with him. "Yes Knock Out?"

Knock Out smirked and started to caress Nocturne's thigh. "You know, since we've got a bigger room at the Autobot base…"

Nocturne immediately got up from the berth they were sitting on. "I don't think so, Knock Out."

"But Nocturne…"

"No, we are not going to interface. Ratchet said that if we interface this early, it could hurt the sparkling!"

Even though he knew she was right, Knock Out still pouted. He couldn't help the way he was feeling; it was another symptom of the sparkling taking over his body. His body was now being pumped full of new fluids to make sure the sparkling developed to full term, one of them known to increase his sex drive. So every once in a while, he would crave interfacing all day and night. It wasn't just Nocturne that he wanted to do it with, not to her surprise, but he tried to pull something on Arcee, Bumblebee, even Optimus. They all just knew to push him off and tell him to go back to the medbay.

"Nocturne please..." Knock Out whined. "I feel like I'm about to die!"

The femme rolled her optics. "No you're not. Don't be so melodramatic." She paused and looked at a nearby clock. "Oh, I think it's about time for your drink."

Knock Out's optics widened and he cringed. "No, not that nasty slag!"

Nocturne frowned. "Knock Out, you have to drink it, remember? It has all the nutrients both you and the sparkling need. I know it tastes gritty and bitter, but it's good for you. So just be strong and drink it as fast as you can."

The mech just whined even more and lay on his side on the berth, shooting a deep pout in her direction. The femme just smiled and shook her helm as she exited the medbay to find Ratchet. Knock Out was a grown mech, but he was acting just like a child. Honestly, even Miko had more maturity than him, and that was saying a lot. Still…that was one of the things she loved about him.

Well…really, she loved him all-together.

"Ratchet…?"

The red and white medic turned from his position at the monitor to see the femme coming from the medbay. He glanced at the clock and saw what it was time for. "Is it time for Knock Out's next dose already? Time flies when you're working…"

"How long have you been working at the monitor to lose track of time?"

"Don't worry about me, Nocturne. Follow me and I'll get the Energon ready."

The femme obediently followed Ratchet to a back room that contained a refrigeration unit. The red and white mech opened it and pulled out a cube of low-grade Energon. He also pulled out a bottle of a white substance and poured some of it into the Energon. Once he finished stirring it, he decided he would go with Nocturne just to make sure Knock Out actually took it and didn't pour it down the drain. He caught the red mech attempting to dump it one time and that earned him a smack on the back of the helm.

"You're chipper today, Knock Out." Ratchet greeted. "Let me guess: Nocturne denied you sex?"

"Go frag yourself…" Knock Out mumbled.

"Well, whether you like it or not, she's doing the right thing. Now, it's time for your second dose for today. And you'd better drink every last drop."

The red mech pouted and grabbed the cube from Ratchet. Pursing his lip components bitterly at first, he composed himself and quickly chugged down the treated Energon. He wanted to throw it back up, but knew it would benefit the sparkling, so he swallowed it hard and coughed a little in a failed attempt to get the taste off his glossa.

"That's a good mech, Knock Out." Ratchet praised.

Knock Out didn't even bother to retort; he just lay back down on his side and turned his back struts to him and Nocturne. The femme just shrugged her shoulder before saying to Ratchet, "Thank you, sir."

"I should thank you for making Knock Out keep his crotchplate on. Just make sure he gets plenty of rest, and for right now, don't let him out of your sight. Especially don't let him touch any high-grade; don't let him try to sneak some from Bulkhead or Optimus."

Nocturne nodded. "You can count on me, Ratchet. Knock Out is in good hands." She paused and looked down at the ground. "Has there been…any progress with me?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "Not yet. Serlena is still working on your samples and I haven't found anything in the known database. We're doing everything we can…just be patient."

The femme sighed and glanced back up at Ratchet. "…I understand. Thank you anyway…"


	11. Here By Me

Author's Note: As Knock Out further progresses, Nocturne becomes more and more desperate to find out about her past...making a decision she may later regret.

Chapter 11: Here by Me

Nocturne wore a smile as her lip components pressed themselves to a slumbering Knock Out's cheekplate. The action of affection brought him out of recharge and his glazed-over optics stared up at her. When did the lights in the medbay get so bright? Oh yeah…he had fallen into recharge again.

"It's about time you woke up." Nocturne whispered.

"…I've been recharging a lot lately, haven't I?" Knock Out murmured.

"Well, it's natural; you're carrying a sparkling and it's taking more out of you. It's good that you're getting plenty of rest." She paused and patted his ever-growing bulge. "And it's good that you've increased your Energon intake, whether you want to admit it or not."

Knock Out pouted. "I hate it that I'm getting fat…"

The femme sighed. "For the fiftieth time, you are not fat. Maybe a little pudgy, but definitely not fat."

The mech frowned and glared at her. "Oh, THAT'S reassuring."

"Knock Out…"

The Decepticon medic sighed and grasped the femme's servo. It was, in a small way, one of his many forms of an apology. It was one of Nocturne's favorite forms of an apology from him; just holding each others' hands sent a soothing wave over her spark, as it did Knock Out's. It was strange, but at the same time it wasn't. Nocturne came close once again and gave him another kiss.

"Since you're awake now, I'll go get your medicine for today."

Knock Out just wanted to gag at the mention of that. A month's time didn't change his disgust towards the treated Energon. Well sure, it was better for the sparkling, but it didn't have to be so nasty on his glossa. And Nocturne…she was just too nice for her own good. It made him think who the sparkling was going to be more like if it didn't turn out to be a disfigured beast.

He knew that for about two months, its spark developed from his and grew until a month ago, when it migrated to a newly-formed gestation chamber and a protoform formed around it. Now all that was needed was for the sparkling to grow until it was ready to exit his body…one way or another.

For some reason it felt amusing to think of the sparkling bursting out of his body.

Knock Out wanted to go back and get his equipment from the Nemesis to do examinations on himself, but going back into the clutches of Megatron would be suicide. He remembered the time Starscream infiltrated the Nemesis to steal some Energon, but he was caught thanks to his encounter with Orion Pax. Hmph…if the Seeker saw him like this, what would he say? But to make things worse, the Autobots had Airachnid in stasis lock AND inside the base. Didn't they know that those Insecticon stasis pods were unpredictable? If the spider burst out of it…

"Knock Out, medicine time." Ratchet's voice echoed.

"Oh…joy…" The red mech grumbled.

"Now don't be such a spoilsport, Knock Out." Ratchet sternly lectured. "You're only prolonging the inevitable."

The Decepticon medic growled and snatched the Energon cube from the Autobot medic's grasp. After drinking it in one go, he grimaced and handed the empty cube back to the red and white mech. Ratchet wore a satisfied smile and disposed of the cube in a waste bin. He seemed to take a little enjoyment out of the red mech's displeasure, probably ever since the incident with Synthetic Energon.

"Now was that so bad?"

"Kiss my aft, you bucket of rust."

"Knock Out, be nice to Ratchet." Nocturne scolded. "He's helping us, after all."

Knock Out wanted to glare at the femme, but now he couldn't bring himself to do that anymore. When he first met her he was actually cruel to her and didn't care about her well-being. But now…he couldn't stand for her to be away from him; he hated it when Optimus sent her out to do a task. He was always afraid Megatron would catch her, possibly torture her, and then kill her.

He didn't want that to happen, but now he wasn't able to fight. Sure, she could put up a fight, but if she tried to drink his Energon, it would make her sick. He couldn't stop thinking about any of this until he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders as he stayed sitting up. He looked over in time to see Nocturne nuzzling her cheekplate against his.

"You're being very affectionate…" Knock Out mused.

"Why wouldn't I be? You're starting to do better with taking your medicine." She paused and a frown graced her lip components for a moment. "But you could do without the snappy insults towards Ratchet."

Knock Out couldn't help but smirk. "The old 'Bot's used to insults; he's usually the one delivering them. He'll probably throw a few insults at you every once in a while."

"Thanks for the warning…"

"Well, I suppose I'm looking out for your well-being, just like you're looking out for mine."

Nocturne smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh really? Are you genuinely concerned for my well-being, or is it another issue of saving your own skin?"

The red mech held his smirk. "Genuine concern."

The femme's response was to get up on the berth with him and begin straddling his waist. A victorious grin appeared on Knock Out's lip components; it was about time he was going to get some, and he wasn't above tricking Nocturne, though his concerns for her were true. But he didn't count on her catching on so quickly while they were kissing, which was clued in by him trying to open her chestplate. As a result, she aptly got off and smiled.

"Nice try, Knock Out." Nocturne commented. "But no means no."

Knock Out sputtered and stared at the femme. "B-But…b-but I need to interface, Nocturne! I'll die if I don't!"

"No you won't; you can go five more months without interfacing. Now if you try to trick me into it again, I won't give you any for a year."

The mech gasped a little. "A YEAR!?"

"That's right: a year." She paused and stared at him with sympathy in her optics. "Knock Out, I know you're normally not this stimulated; the chemicals being produced in your body now are making you think and do things you normally wouldn't. You'll get back to your old self once the sparkling's born. So please…just hang in there."

Knock Out had a deep frown on his face but Nocturne walked out of the medbay, so it was all for naught. But he wanted the femme back for a different reason. The 'sparkling' started to quicken inside of his chassis and he wanted to inform her about it. After all, she was the one most excited about having the thing. However, she was gone…and he felt like he would just be bothering her. Why would he feel such a way? Oh yeah…fragging 'hormones'.

Nocturne exited the medbay and found Hawkeye to be the one on monitor duty. Hawkeye…if it wasn't for her, she wouldn't have questioned Megatron's motives and she probably wouldn't have had her encounter with Knock Out…but she knew she couldn't undo the past. The black femme seemed to notice her presence and aptly turned away from the monitor screen.

"I take it you've been keeping Knock Out's crotchplate on." Hawkeye greeted.

"With great difficulty." Nocturne greeted back. She stared at the black femme before asking, "So…have you recovered any of YOUR memories?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "Some. I remember that I was an assassin during the War, and I remember I came to Earth three years ago to search for a Decepticon named Nightbird…but that's it." She glanced away from the monitor. "Let me guess: you're still a work in progress?"

"Well…I feel like I'm having a few flashbacks…and they all involve a medical facility…"

"Maybe your human self worked as a doctor or nurse, like Jack's mom."

The other femme blinked her green optics. "Huh…I've never met Jack's mother."

"She only comes around every once in a while, usually when she gets off work or if one of the kids' life is on the line. Either way, she tends to worry a little too much."

Nocturne smiled sadly. "Isn't that what single parents do?"

The black femme slowly turned to face Nocturne, a puzzled expression written on her faceplate. "How did you know she was a single parent?"

Nocturne blinked and cast her optics onto the floor. How DID she know that? She never met Jack Darby's mother; she didn't even know her name. Was this a potential memory coming back? Did she originally live in Jasper, Nevada? All of this felt so strange…but she knew she could talk to Knock Out about it.

"I…really don't know how I knew that…"

It was now past midnight and it turned out to be one of those nights the humans decided to sleep over. Of course with that came the stern warning from Ratchet to stay away from the medbay. The reason besides giving Knock Out and Nocturne privacy: Ratchet warned that both Knock Out and the sparkling were vulnerable to Earth microorganisms, and lately Raf had been exhibiting symptoms of allergies. So the children were asleep and all the Autobots were in recharge. Knock Out was deep in recharge in the medbay, but Nocturne couldn't get to sleep. Normally, sleep wasn't a problem for her, but things were different.

How was it she knew that Jack's mom was a single parent and highly worried about him?

She remembered how Hawkeye told her she regained some of her memories, and she probably regained them from exposure to artifacts on missions. Could she be able to find out about herself if she went through Jasper? She knew her alt-mode was anything but normal, but right now was a time when almost all the humans in the town were asleep. Ever since coming near the town, she had been having dreams…dreams that were more like the memories she was so desperate to find.

With a silent sigh, she slowly rose from the berth and moved Knock Out's arms off of her body. Her optics stared at his recharging form and she couldn't help but smile. It was strange…he looked so innocent and peaceful when he was asleep. Now standing next to the berth, she leaned over and placed a kiss on the red mech's cheekplate.

"…I'll be back soon…I promise."

It didn't take much to disable the security sensors and open the door. To her surprise, the moon was full, and it made something stir in her. Her thirst for Energon was heightened and she felt like letting loose while the orb was in the sky. With her ferocity peaking and a drive to find out her past, she transformed into her alt-mode and ran past the rock peaks. Who knows? Maybe she would run into some delicious Eradicons…

Knock Out awoke early the next morning and found the spot where Nocturne normally lay empty. Strange…she was always there when he came out of recharge. Maybe Optimus sent her out to do something…but it never hurt to check. He knew Ratchet would scold him and force him back into the medbay, but he didn't care right now. He slowly rose from the berth, feeling his back struts pop, and exited the medbay to look for the femme.

"Prime, it's serious! Even Ratchet couldn't disable the security sensors like that, only for them to come on a second later!" Bulkhead shouted from the main room.

"Fortunately, the breach in security won't be picked up by the Decepticons." Ratchet assured. "But the sensors weren't shut off by someone breaking in…"

"…It was by someone breaking out." Arcee finished.

Knock Out rubbed his optics and came into the room, much to the surprise of the Autobots. They all looked at each other quickly, greatly dreading telling Knock Out what they recently discovered. But any time to come up with a cover expired when the red mech asked, "…Where's Nocturne? Is she out on an assignment?"

Bulkhead shook his helm. "No KO…Nocturne's gone."


	12. Alone Again

Author's Note: Nocturne has suddenly vanished, leaving Knock Out alone and starting to sink into a deep depression. The question is...what happened to the femme?

Chapter 12: Alone Again

"Gone!? What do you mean she's GONE!?" Knock Out shrieked.

"Just like I said." Bulkhead growled. "I don't know how she did it, but she managed to drop the security sensors and got the door open."

"According to surveillance from last night…" Ratchet began as he typed a few keys to bring up a video image. "She exited the base and headed for the canyon. Most likely…she needed to feed."

Knock Out wasn't buying it. Even if she were starving, Nocturne would always wait for him to wake up so she could give him a kiss on the cheekplate. Strange…his cheekplate actually felt naked without the imprinting of the femme's lip components on it. What would really make her just get up during the night and practically break out of the Autobot base? Unless…

"Knock Out, what's wrong?" Arcee asked when she saw the red mech clutch his helm like a scared child.

The former Decepticon hesitated in answering at first, but finally let it all come out. "…What if she left…to get away from me…? What if she abandoned me…?"

All of the Autobots stared at him as he looked like he was getting ready to break down and cry. Even though he was a former enemy, they hated seeing him like this. If he kept feeling this sense of despair, it would definitely harm the sparkling. Sure, they only knew Nocturne for a short time, but they already knew she would never abandon him.

"KO, calm down." Bulkhead tried to explain. "Nocturne would never leave you on purpose. Maybe she just went to get something to eat; she'll be back soon!"

The red mech glared at the green mech. "That's not very reassuring coming from the mouth of an Autobot…"

'Listen to Bulkhead, he has a point!' Bumblebee beeped. 'Nocturne's a grown femme, so maybe she just wanted a break!'

"A…break?" Knock Out asked before he stomped dangerously to the yellow Autobot. "A BREAK!?"

"Knock Out, calm down…" Arcee murmured.

"DON'T tell me to CALM DOWN!" The red mech retorted, almost jabbing his finger into the blue femme's optic. "How dare any of you fragging Autobots suggest that Nocturne wanted a 'break' from me! None of you have EVER been in my situation, so what makes you think you suddenly understand!?"

"Knock Out, settle down right now!" Ratchet demanded.

The red mech just flailed his arms around for a moment before saying, "Just leave me the frag alone! I don't want any of you near me!"

The Autobots could only stand and stare as the former Decepticon walked back into the medbay. Once the doors sealed shut, Hawkeye stared at Optimus with optics that looked on the verge of shattering.

"Optimus…I believe this is all my fault…" The black femme murmured.

"What do you mean, Hawkeye?" The Autobot leader asked in confusion.

Hawkeye sighed and decided to explain what happened yesterday. "Yesterday, Nocturne and I talked about if we made any progress in recovering our memories. I told her I regained some, but she told me she was having dreams that could be memories. And…I told her I regained my memories by coming into contact with certain things…"

"What does this have to do with Nocturne's disappearance?" Arcee asked as she crossed her arms.

"Nocturne may have gone out to find something to help her remember who she was…who she is. So I feel like I contributed to her leaving…and there's no telling when she'll be back."

Ratchet blinked his optics and his arms went limp on his sides. "I never realized she was THAT desperate to reclaim her memories…"

"There's more…" Nocturne added. "I overheard her and Knock Out talking one time…and they mentioned something about going to look for Mimicus."

"They want to look for Mimic? What for? What do they have to gain from finding her, besides the fact that they'll have to get through Starscream?" Bulkhead questioned incredulously.

Hawkeye crossed her arms. "They probably thought Mimic's Key would help…though I don't know if it would work on someone like Nocturne."

Optimus sighed. "If they were hoping to find Mimicus, they will have great difficulty. Do not forget that she and Starscream are always on the move. Things will also be more difficult for them, since Starscream now possesses the Apex Armor and Mimicus has the Spell Drive of Zaphiana Prime." He paused and locked optics with Hawkeye. "I believe it is best if you go speak with Knock Out, because you were the closest of us to Nocturne."

The black femme nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir."

Hawkeye slowly entered the medbay and found Knock Out literally curled into a ball on the berth. He looked miserable, even more so than he had been. She'd seen many forms of Knock Out, everything from "If you ruin my finish I'll prep you for surgery" Knock Out to "Don't stare at my chassis or I'll electrocute you" Knock Out to "Give me that Energon goodie or I'll saw you in half" Knock Out to "Would someone PLEASE have sex with me" Knock Out.

But this was the first time she ever saw him in what humans called a 'depression'. She heard of the human depression in how they would stay in bed for up to weeks at a time and not move, not even to eat or go to the bathroom. Why wouldn't Knock Out be depressed; he essentially felt abandoned by the femme who promised to stay by his side. Sure, even if she only went out to find fuel it didn't matter; he was alone.

"Hey Knock Out…how are you holding up?"

Knock Out didn't even bother to spare her a glance. He kept his back turned to her as he answered, "…I thought I told all of you to stay away from me."

"I'm not one for taking orders from even a former Decepticon." Hawkeye retorted. "I just want to talk to you."

The red mech snorted. "Don't even bother with trying to raise my spirits. Unless you find Nocturne so I can beat some sense into her, nothing will make me feel even remotely better."

"Well…I can at least try." The black femme stepped forward and patted his back struts, not letting up when Knock Out flinched in defiance. "Don't you think you're getting a little possessive with Nocturne?"

Knock Out frowned deeply. "Why is it any of your business?"

Hawkeye closed her optics for a moment. "You haven't been the same ever since Breakdown died, have you?"

This got his attention. His optics widened, he turned his helm to her slightly and asked in a shaky tone, "…H-How did you know that?"

The black femme shrugged. "Nocturne told me. I talked with her quite a few times…and I think I maybe enticed her to leave unintentionally."

"What are you saying?"

"Yesterday, Nocturne and I were talking about our amnesia. I told her I was getting better, but she said she was having dreams that could be memories. She said all her dreams involved being in a medical facility, so maybe she used to be a doctor or nurse."

Knock Out wrapped his arms around his chassis. "…Why didn't she tell me?"

"Maybe she thought you didn't want to be bothered by it…and maybe she felt you were still mad at her for what she did to you."

"What? I…I would've listened…and I'm not angry with her anymore…"

"Then tell her that when she gets back. I think she went around Jasper to get some clues, so she'll be back in just a few days. You just…you just need to have faith in her. I don't think she's the kind to ever break her promises, and I certainly believe that if she were in a tight situation, you'd be the first to get her out of it."

"…" Knock Out didn't reply.

Hawkeye could only sigh as she started to walk away and head for the medbay door. "Well…I'll let you have some alone time until it's time for Ratchet to give you your medicine. In the meantime…make sure to make your sparkling your top priority."

Once the medbay door closed, Knock Out sighed and felt his optics start to burn. If he had just been a little more open with Nocturne…if he was just willing to listen…if he had just stopped putting her feelings off…then maybe…

Maybe she would've stayed…


	13. Warmth

Author's Note: Nocturne is gone, and Knock Out is heavily depressed. He undergoes a medical checkup before he gets a pep-talk from none-other than...Bulkhead? Rate and review!

Chapter 13: Warmth

Hawkeye had underestimated when Nocturne would come back. So far, the former Decepticon femme had not returned, and it had not been just days.

Nocturne had been gone for months.

And the months did not brighten Knock Out's mood at all. In fact, it had just gotten worse. That wasn't the only thing that further soured his mood. Now the sparkling was close to being due, and his dread grew as he kept thinking about how the creature was going to leave his body. Ratchet assured him that if things were to take a turn for the worse, surgery would be performed immediately.

Like that was supposed to calm him down.

"Ratchet, we need to do something about Knock Out." Arcee whispered to the medic. "He's been sulking in the medbay for months and hasn't come out. Why haven't we found Nocturne?"

The red and white medic sighed. "I know, Arcee. I've called in Serlena to do an evaluation. As for Nocturne…well…I just hope that my fears can be disproved."

Arcee raised an eyebrow before her face dropped. "Ratchet…don't tell me you're afraid that…"

Ratchet slowly nodded and went back to staring at the computer screen. "…I've had some fears that Nocturne has been terminated…either caught by Megatron…or even the remnants of MECH."

Bulkhead decided to cut in. "Wait…Nocturne couldn't have been caught that easily. I mean, with the way she has to feed, she's basically built for stealth. MECH doesn't even know about her, to top it all off!" The green mech paused when a realization came to mind. "But there is one mech who could probably get her…and that would be Soundwave."

"Yeah…Hawkeye told me Soundwave was the one who ratted Knock Out and Nocturne out because the number of troops started to drop."

"Still…even if Nocturne can take care of herself physically…she may still be emotionally vulnerable if she is extremely desperate to find her memories." Ratchet pondered.

The green mech sighed. "Then she'd fall for anything. It's a good thing we've got Hawk, Smokescreen, and Quickslinger looking for her. I'm actually glad those two are part of the team now."

The three Autobots heard the groundbridge open up to reveal Smokescreen and Quickslinger stepping through, visibly exhausted and in need of refueling. Bumblebee shut off the groundbridge and Ratchet was the first to go to them The two were obviously ragged and the looks on their faceplates depicted news that was not pleasant.

"Any luck?"

The blue and white mech shook his helm. "No…we looked all over the West Coast, and nothing."

"You never told me that Nocturne was so good at hiding…" Quickslinger griped. "What kinds of experiments were done on her, anyway?"

Ratchet then noticed something. "…Where is Hawkeye? All three of you have been gone for over a week, and she hasn't reported back in."

Smokescreen shrugged. "Don't ask me. The three of us got separated at the starting point up north, and I met up with Quickslinger in Santa Monica. Hawkeye didn't show up, even when I called for her about ten times."

The red and white mech sighed and began to think about how Knock Out was going to react. He could see it all and didn't look forward to any of it, especially with the state he was in right now. "This is not good…"

As for Knock Out, he was lying miserably on the medbay berth as usual. His chassis was so swollen he couldn't even see his knees when he brought them towards his chestplate. He was ready for this little monster to be ripped out of him, one way or another. To top it all off, it was certainly doing a better job of making its presence known, and it was especially proficient at squirming enough to bring the red mech out of desperately-needed recharge.

"You look pleasant." Serlena stated with dry sarcasm.

"Look who's talking." Knock Out retorted bitterly.

The Arcadian medic sighed and stared at the datapads Ratchet compiled for her. "Now you can't be in 'doom and gloom' mode forever, and you know that. If you keep showing this amount of stress, the sparkling could have protoforming malfunctions." She paused when she saw the red mech roll his optics. "And don't act like you don't care, because I know you do."

Knock Out narrowed his optics and clenched his denta. "You don't know ANYTHING about me…"

Serlena just scoffed and tapped her pede with impatience. Honestly, she forgot how stubborn Decepticon patients were ever since she left Megatron's ranks. It was bad enough he was formerly a Decepticon, but it was worse since he was a medic himself. She was surprised at how long Ratchet kept his patience… Letting out a sigh, she just grabbed a stethoscope and proceeded to press the flat circular end to Knock Out's abdominal paneling, even when he tried to squirm out of her reach. The red mech just stared at her as she listened intently to the sparkling's sparkbeat.

"Anything new, 'Doctor' Serlena?" Knock Out asked with a small hint of sarcasm.

"Surprisingly, with your level of stress and irritability, the sparkling sounds just fine. The sparkbeat is just a little rapid, but it's usually always like that before and after birth."

Knock Out wasn't surprised; though he only delivered a few sparklings in his career, he knew the conditions it needed to be in while still in gestation. But never in his lifetime did he ever think he would be one of those 'lucky' carriers…and it was all thanks to Nocturne. He didn't even want to think of the possibility that she was offline…

"Hey Serlena…I'm curious about something. You can read processors, right?"

"Well…yeah."

Knock Out sat up slightly and held himself up with his now-aching arms. "Why don't you try to read the processor of this little hijacker and see what it really wants? Find out if it wants to rip me apart and go on a killing spree…"

The Arcadian medic sighed but knew that he raised an interesting topic; she never read the mind of an unborn sparkling before. With a small nod, she placed her hand on the mech's chassis and closed her optics to concentrate. Honestly, she didn't know if at even this stage a sparkling could think in words…but it only took a minute or so to get her answer.

"Well…what did you find out?" Knock Out asked impatiently.

Serlena sighed and went back to the datapads Ratchet gave her. "Well…I did find out a couple of things." She paused and glanced at him. "It has two primary thoughts…that it loves you very much and can't wait to meet you for the first time."

Any words that Knock Out thought up in preparation for a snarky comeback went up in flames as a result of what the femme told him. The thing…the sparkling actually loved him? It couldn't wait to meet him? A sparkling was actually able to think those things? Sure, it wasn't an ordinary sparkling…but still, he was instantly floored. That feeling stuck with him long after Serlena left the medbay for him to get some rest. The red mech lay on his side and softly stroked his swollen chassis with a lone digit. He was just left alone to dwell on this new finding…and then…

"Uh, hey KO." A heavy voice calmly greeted.

Knock Out sighed and immediately recognized the voice belonged to Bulkhead. Ratchet or Serlena one must have suggested he needed visitors to brighten his mood. Like that would do any good…or so he thought. "Bulkhead…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I…uh…just came to check on you. Hawkeye…Hawkeye hasn't come back yet…so I thought I could talk to someone…w-who's in the same boat."

Knock Out blinked his optics before the realization hit him…and it was such an obvious one that he couldn't help but chuckle…something he hadn't done in a long while. He stared up at the green mech and asked, "You're in love with Hawkeye, aren't you?"

"Wh-What!? N-No, that's not it-"

"Don't try to deny it, Autobot; it was obvious from day one." He paused and breathed out a sigh, casting his optics downward once again. "But you're stronger than I am…mentally, anyway. She hasn't been gone as long as Nocturne has, so you don't seem as bothered…"

Bulkhead sighed; the only person he had really ever discussed his feelings with was Miko, so he never thought he'd be feeling empathy for Knock Out. Still, he understood what he was saying. Hawkeye was only gone so far for a week. Nocturne had been gone for months, without a trace, so technically they were in the same boat.

"No matter how long she's been gone, I still worry about her…and I know you're still worried about Nocturne, but you can't just lie on the berth all day moping about it."

The red mech snorted. "What are you now, a motivational speaker?"

Bulkhead frowned. "I'm being serious. Do you think Nocturne would want you to be in the shape you're in right now? The rest of us haven't known her long, but I already know that she wouldn't want you to be like this. I know that Hawkeye wouldn't want me to be an emotional train-wreck over her."

Knock Out narrowed his ruby optics. "Are you saying I shouldn't let this trouble me, Autobot?"

"I'm saying that you need to stop beating yourself up and, well, toughen up! Do it for your sake, for Nocturne's sake, and definitely for your sparkling's sake! How would you feel if the little guy or girl saw you depressed from day one to eternity?"

The former Decepticon medic pursed his lip components and looked away from the former Wrecker. Depression wasn't good for a sparkling to lay optics on, and it certainly wasn't good for it while it was still curled up inside the gestation chamber his body formed after Nocturne's sting. Thinking about it…made him realize he was acting weak and pathetic. If Nocturne saw how he was, he knew she would be deeply ashamed…and that was the last thing he wanted: to bring shame to those he cared about. Even if she didn't say it out loud, she could convey plenty just with the look on her faceplate. He missed her scolding him and the longing in her optics when she stared at him.

"So Doc…think about what I just said, and I'll let you get some rest." Bulkhead answered after a long moment of silence.

Knock Out nodded and watched Bulkhead turn around to leave. He suddenly blinked his optics and cast his optics to his swollen chassis before looking back up and calling out, "Bulkhead!"

The green mech walked back to the red mech. "Something the matter, KO?"

Knock Out shook his helm but reached up and grasped Bulkhead's large hand. "Give me your hand…I want to show you something."

Bulkhead only stood in silence as Knock Out kept hold of his hand and placed it on his abdominal paneling before he realized what the red mech was doing. A few seconds later his suspicions were confirmed when the green mech felt a thump underneath the plating. He yelped and stared at Knock Out before asking, "What was that!?"

Knock Out couldn't help but chuckle. "The sparkling just kicked…"

"…Does that ever hurt?"

"Only lately…and that's because it's kicking towards my spark chamber. That can only mean it's positioned for birth…"

"W-Well…it's not doing that because I woke it up or something, is it?"

The red mech smirked. "If you had woken it up, it would've hit harder and hit my spark chamber. But no…that's its way of telling you hello."

Now feeling awkward, Bulkhead turned back around and headed for the medbay exit. He managed to croak out a goodnight before exiting and leaving Knock Out alone again. But now…Knock Out wasn't feeling so alone anymore. At least he knew there was someone close that loved him.

And that night he was able to have the first peaceful recharge in months…


	14. Gratitude

Author's Note: Nocturne is still missing, and while Knock Out is in slightly-better spirits, he still longs for her. Now he gets a secondary pep-talk, this time from Bumblebee.

Chapter 14: Gratitude

The Autobots were surprised to see Knock Out actually getting out of the medbay and walking around the base. They had gotten so used to him being cooped up in an emotional heap by himself that seeing him in a brighter mood disturbed them a little. But…really, it was better seeing him a little happier, maybe even a little more optimistic that Nocturne would return. However, Ratchet was trying his best to actually get the red mech to go back to the medbay and back to the berth. Why was that?

"Knock Out, take this a little more seriously! I'm putting you on berthrest for a good reason!"

"Why are you so bent out of shape over me? I feel absolutely fine, Autobot!"

"Knock Out, whether you like it or not, you're close to protoforming! You need to stay off your pedes until the sparkling is born!"

The red mech huffed even though his back struts and pedes were extremely sore; his stubbornness knew no bounds. "I know that; I'm a medic myself! But you don't see me with lubricant dripping out of me, do you?"

Without warning, Knock Out let out a yelp as Ratchet grabbed him by the shoulderplates and led him back into the medbay. The red mech tried to put up a fight but his aching pedes only slid forward with ease. Once in the medbay, the red and white mech unceremoniously sat the former Decepticon on the berth as if he were an unruly youngling. Knock Out crossed his arms and lay on his side, a deep pout on his faceplate.

"Don't look at me like that." Ratchet warned. "It's for your own good."

"Admit it; you just like me better imprisoned in the medbay, don't you? I need to get up and MOVE! I haven't been able to race for MONTHS!" He paused and rested his arm on his side and hip. "Besides, he or she isn't going to come out for another week, so don't get your neural wires in a bunch!"

Ratchet snorted. "Humph, Nocturne was right about you. Other doctors DO make the worst patients!"

At the mention of the femme's name, Knock Out suddenly fell dead-silent. Ratchet cast his optics on him and saw the pain forming in his faceplate. Despite his difficult attitude, he realized the red mech was just displaying it as a way to hide the pain he still felt over not knowing what happened to her. Ratchet wasn't the type to get particularly close to any of his patients, but he couldn't help but develop sympathy for his former enemy.

"Just…take the health of your sparkling a little more seriously, Knock Out." Ratchet sternly commanded but with a softer voice.

The former Decepticon could only stare at the Autobot medic. "…Don't tell me something I already know…"

A moment later Smokescreen and Bumblebee noticed Ratchet exiting the medbay without his usual standoff-ish behavior. To their surprise, he actually seemed…sad. After the red and white mech went towards the back storage hall where the high-grade was kept, the blue and white mech turned to the yellow mech and asked, "What's up with the doc? I haven't seen him look depressed like Knock Out." He paused and stared at the medbay. "Maybe he made the 'Con upset and actually feels bad about it."

Bumblebee locked his optics onto the medbay doors before beeping out to Smokescreen, 'I'll go talk to him and see what's going on.'

"Why are you volunteering to talk to him? You know how he feels towards us, even after all this time!"

The yellow mech let out something akin to a sigh and stared at the rookie. 'You never met Nocturne…and you never saw how she changed him.'

Smokescreen's faceplate softened and he felt his doors droop ever so slightly. "I guess that Nocturne chick means a lot to him, huh?"

'You have no idea.' Bumblebee beeped before opening the door to the medbay and heading inside.

Knock Out raised his helm when he heard the door open and close followed by the sound of footsteps. Thinking it was Ratchet, he didn't even bother to turn around…but something was different about these footsteps. He got confirmation that they didn't belong to the red and white mech when he heard a set of beeps and chirps.

"…Bumblebee?" The red mech asked wearily.

'Are you feeling okay, KO?' The yellow mech chirped with his helm tilted to the side.

"Oh, I'm just PEACHY." Knock Out stated with heavy sarcasm, borrowing the classic human saying. "Can't you see I'm trying to get at least one moment of recharge?"

'Chill! I just wanted to talk!' Bumblebee paused and sat down on the edge of the berth. 'Did Ratchet say something that made you upset?'

Knock Out frowned; he hated that the Autobot speedster was actually trying to get personal with him. He hated getting personal with the Autobots…but they were the only ones willing to help, though. "Why is it that I should make this any of YOUR business?"

'Knock Out…' Bumblebee beeped lowly.

The red mech sighed and felt his lower lip component start to quiver. Frag…now the Autobot was about to see him get emotional. Nevertheless, he fought to regain his composure and croaked out, "…Ratchet brought up Nocturne…"

Bumblebee's optics widened before he cast them down. 'Oh…I'm sorry. I'm sure Ratchet didn't mean anything by it.'

"What makes you so sure, Autobot?" Knock Out asked heatedly. "None of you like the fact that two Decepticons have been living under your roof hiding from Megatron, yet you wouldn't say it out loud or you would get on Prime's bad side! That especially applies to your medic and that unruly two-wheeler!"

'Ratchet's always been standoff-ish, and Arcee's never been the same since she lost her partners. If we said anything out of line towards you and Nocturne, or if we treated you badly, then I'll be the first to apologize!' The yellow mech beeped.

Knock Out just let out a deep sigh and placed a free servo on his swollen chassis, causing Bumblebee to immediately feel awful. He realized the red mech wasn't just carrying the weight of not knowing where his potential bondmate was; he also had to deal with the fact that she would miss the birth of their sparkling and that it would possibly grow up without its co-creator. He would never understand the feeling and hoped he would never have to have the feeling anytime soon.

"Why are you Autobots really being so nice all of a sudden…?" The red mech asked softly.

Bumblebee tilted his helm in confusion. 'Aren't Autobots supposed to help those in need? You know…you could become an Autobot if you wanted.'

"Thanks, but no thanks. For all I care, I'm neutral like Starscream and Mimicus."

'But aren't you glad we're helping you out so you don't end up as a pile of metal shavings at the hands of Megatron?'

Knock Out pouted for a few seconds before he blinked his optics and looked back up at Bumblebee. "You…you have a point. If it weren't for you Autobots, Nocturne and I…would be sent back to the Well of All Sparks." He paused and chuckled slightly. "That is…IF Nocturne came from the Well of All Sparks to begin with. Maybe she was originally human after all."

'Yeah, Ratchet said there's no record of her in the last Cybertron Census taken with us when we came to Earth…but who would have the power to turn a human into a Cybertronian?'

Knock Out shook his helm. "I have no clue…but their technology would have to surpass even the kind Megatron has at his disposal. MECH wouldn't even be able to do that…" Knock Out broke out of his current thoughts and locked optics with the yellow mech. "Bumblebee…I know that I've been a total pain in the aft to each and every one of you…but for you, and tell this to the others…thank you for taking myself and Nocturne in…and thank you for pouring in efforts to find her and bring her back."

Bumblebee blinked his optics and nervously scratched the back of his helm. 'W-Wow…never thought I'd hear 'thank you' from a 'Con…but you're welcome.'

Without warning, the yellow mech placed his hand on Knock Out's abdominal plating, without the red mech's permission, and gave it a reassuring pat. But strangely enough, Knock Out didn't seem to mind; it gave him a little bit of comfort. Suddenly, Bumblebee beeped and pulled away his hand.

"What's wrong?"

'I felt a jump! What was that!?"

Knock Out rolled his optics and immediately grabbed Bumblebee's hand. "Oh, quit your griping; it's not going to bite you!" He stopped to place the yellow mech's hand back on his chassis. "Just hold still; the sparkling's just moving around, that's all!"

The yellow mech stood perfectly still for a moment and felt a knot nudge the very center of his hand. A soft beep escaped his vocal processor and he asked, 'What's it doing that for?'

"I guess you don't know that much about the gestation cycle of sparklings. It's trying to get some better leg room, but it really can't because it's almost ready to get out of me."

'Uh…how's it going to get out of you?'

Knock Out paused; he hadn't really thought of that, and Ratchet hadn't really brought the matter up. How WAS it going to get out of him? Of course, he hadn't really taken the time to check in-between his legs or underneath his crotchplate; he would leave that to the Autobot medic to gaze upon.

"You know Bumblebee…I've noticed something. Whenever you guys come in here and cheer me up, the sparkling gets excited in some form. I think it likes you Autobots."

'Huh? It can hear us talking?'

"Of course it can; it was able to start hearing our voices just a few months ago!" He paused and let out a soft groan. "If only it was able to hear Nocturne's voice…"

Bumblebee suddenly patted the red mech on the shoulder. 'Hey…have some faith in Nocturne. She'll be back, and then you two can give all the love your sparkling could ever need and more. Besides, I'm sure she's eager to meet her son or daughter.'

Knock Out blushed and tried and failed to hide it. "…D-Don't get all cute about it, Autobot. I-I already know that; I know she'll come back for us!"

'Just making sure. Anyway, I'll let you get some rest…and I'll guard the medbay door until Ratchet gets back. You're on berthrest, after all.'

"How did you know that!?"

Bumblebee beeped in a form of laughter. 'Ratchet gave us all the order, even Optimus, to put your aft back in the medbay if we caught you getting on your pedes more than you should.'

"Fragging Ratchet…" Knock Out muttered. He paused and stared down at his abdominal plating. "If I ever hear you use that word, you're grounded for eternity."


	15. Renewal of Faith

Author's Note: The sparkling is closer to being due, and Knock Out is more than desperate to have his beloved Nocturne back. To cheer him up, at least a little, he gets one more pep-talk, now from Arcee.

Chapter 15: Renewal of Faith

"I've said it once and I'll say it again…PLEASE take it easy on me. You can do without exercise for one day; just let me get some rest…"

"Let me guess: the sparkling is restless again?"

Knock Out looked up from his swollen chassis and saw Ratchet entering the medbay. The former Decepticon breathed out a sigh and struggled to sit himself up for the examination he couldn't avoid. He knew the red and white mech got some sort of pleasure out of seeing his rival in his own form of agony and he knew he was too embarrassed to say anything against Ratchet. Well…at least he didn't have to wait and be kept guessing about the sparkling much longer…

"Why is it that the sparkling always waits until it's almost ready to be born to be so active?" Knock Out asked as he leaned back on the raised section of the berth. "I haven't been able to recharge for the past two nights!"

"Now Knock Out, the sparkling doesn't mean any harm; it's just getting itself ready for birth."

"I'm ready for him or her to get out NOW. I'm ready to have my original frame back!"

Ratchet walked forward and sighed. "Knock Out, you know as well as I do that nothing will happen until the sparkling decides it's ready." He paused and pulled over his sonogram equipment. "Speaking of which, let's see today how it's doing. Let's get your abdominal plating removed."

The red mech groaned and took off his abdominal plating to reveal his bare and swollen protoform. He hated having himself THIS exposed, but what else could he do about it? His thoughts didn't really improve when the red and white mech placed the cold probe on his protoform, revealing on the screen the grainy image of a sparkling. To Knock Out's surprise, the sparkling was actually still and content, one of its servos over its mouth. It was obvious to the two medics that it was sucking its thumb.

"Well…that's…that's actually kind of cute…" Knock Out murmured.

"I never thought I'd hear you use 'cute' in any sentence…but yes, sparklings are generally cute." Ratchet paused and stared at the image in the sparkling. "I know you'll find out soon, but do you want to know what you're having?"

Knock Out shook his helm. "I want to be surprised."

The Autobot medic shrugged. "Fair enough. Not all carriers want to know the gender of their sparkling right away. Of course…you already know that."

A heaviness set into Knock Out's spark all of a sudden. If Nocturne were here, she would be bouncing up and down and asking Ratchet if the sparkling was a mech or femme. She would also stare, for hours if she could, at the image of their sparkling, especially if it was sucking its thumb. Nocturne…she was missing so much it was so painful…

"Knock Out!"

The red mech snapped out of his thoughts and locked his ruby optics with Ratchet's aquamarine ones. "What is it?"

"Your examination's over; the sparkling's just fine." The red and white mech walked towards the exit of the medbay after putting up the sonogram equipment. "I'll let you get some rest…and I'd better not catch you on your pedes."

Knock Out rolled his optics and rolled over onto his side, after much struggling of course. Honestly, the Autobot acted just like his creator…the one mech he never got along with. His father didn't approve of the medic's personality and didn't approve that he wanted to be a medic to begin with. Daddy dearest wanted him to be a Constructicon or even a Combaticon, but Knock Out would have none of it. He sometimes wondered whatever became of his half-sister Noelle and his younger brother Knockback; last he heard, Noelle married the Autobot scientist Perceptor, and Knockback was trying out for a spot with the Combaticons. Well…he couldn't focus on the past right now. Right now…he just wanted to get some rest. Honestly, he felt like he could recharge for a week straight.

"Knock Out? May I come in?" A female voice called.

The red mech opened his optics and found none-other than Arcee entering the medbay, something obviously behind her back. It stunned him that the blue femme actually wanted to be in the same room with him; the same femme that was obsessed with revenge against Airachnid and Starscream and hated Decepticons with a passion. But her attitude…was completely different.

"What is that behind your back?" Knock Out asked with caution.

Arcee wore a lopsided smile. "Well, mostly at Miko's insistence, the humans made something for your sparkling."

Knock Out blinked his optics until the femme brought out what was behind her back. It looked like a large blanket, crudely sewn together by human hands. It was red, the same red as his finish, with patterns on the corners that resembled what humans called 'teddy bears'. It also seemed like there was padding inside of the material, turning it into what humans called a 'quilt'.

"…What IS that?" Knock Out questioned.

The blue femme gave a small but nervous chuckle. "It's what humans call a baby quilt. Miko figured that you could use it for the sparkling. Normally, gifts like these are given during a party called a 'baby shower', but right now we're the only ones that need to know about your condition. Anyway, even if you don't really like it, it's the thought that counts, right?"

The red mech looked the quilt over and felt a warmth fill his spark. He never got gifts like these before, even if it was somewhat-messily put together. He could only imagine the amount of needle pricks on the humans' fingers from making it. A small smile formed on his lip components as he murmured, "…Thank you. Tell the humans I said thank you…"

Arcee sat the quilt next to Knock Out and took a seat next to him on the berth. She stared at the walls in silence before she decided to speak out.

"…Nocturne would never abandon you."

Knock Out stared up at her. "…Come again?"

"Even if she gets annoyed with your attitude, Nocturne would never leave you. And…I don't believe she's dead…and I think you believe the same as I do."

"How would I know if she were still online?"

Arcee tapped her finger over the center of Knock Out's chestplate, right where his spark chamber was. "Feel it in your spark… I think that you can feel her in your spark…feel that she's still alive. I mean…isn't that how bonding works?"

Knock Out gasped and placed his hand over his spark chamber. He never thought of it that way; he realized he really must have bonded with Nocturne, and not just as an interfacing partner. No…he bonded with her as his one true sparkmate. He closed his optics tightly and felt his spark pulsating…and he felt a secondary rhythm…one that wasn't the sparkling's.

It belonged to Nocturne.

The red mech snapped open his optics and whimpered. He couldn't believe it…but at the same time, he could. Nocturne WAS still alive, and she was out there somewhere. Waiting…possibly scared and wanting him to find her. His optics were starting to sting and he wanted to break down and cry until he felt a hand on his shoulder. His optics locked back up at Arcee's, and hers were filled with the utmost sympathy.

"Knock Out…everything's going to be okay. We'll find her."

Knock Out wiped at his optics and felt a knot form in his throat. After a moment of struggling, he croaked out, "…Please…please find her and bring her back to me…"

"We will…" Arcee agreed.

The red mech took hold of the quilt and hugged it close to his chestplate, feeling his spark start to race at the thought that the femme he longed for was still alive. It was…such a warm, warm feeling that he certainly didn't want to shake off for anything. He managed to clear his olfactory sensors and cleaned his optics of lubricant before his composure was fully returned.

"Knock Out…" Arcee began. "D-Do you think I could…listen to the sparkling?"

Knock Out blinked in surprise before he moved the quilt out of the way and better positioned himself on the berth, signifying that as a 'yes'. A smile formed on Arcee's lip components and she pressed her helm to the mech's swollen chassis. Her audio sensors focused and she could hear a rapid and strong sparkbeat, slightly muffled by the presence of fluid.

"It blows my processor that you actually have something alive inside you…" Arcee whispered. "And yet…you do."

"Sometimes I still can't believe it, either…" Knock Out agreed.

Arcee lifted her helm and gave a small pat on the red mech's abdominal paneling. "I know you don't want to admit it or even mention it…but I think you've done a fine job carrying it for this long…and I hope as much as you do that it's born healthy."

"…Thank you…Arcee." Knock Out muttered, the feeling of calling the femme by name new to him.

The blue femme smiled and headed for the medbay doors. As she pressed the button to open them, she turned back to the red mech and stated, "Just get some rest…and we'll find Nocturne…and Hawkeye."

Knock Out had almost forgotten that the black femme was missing as well; Bulkhead must've been an emotional heap, even with how tough he was. It actually pained him a little bit, since Hawkeye was once a fellow Decepticon. He hugged the quilt made by the humans to his chestplate once again and closed his optics as he muttered, "Bring them back safe…"


	16. Life

Author's Note: Knock Out goes into labor, but Nocturne is still not home. The Autobots help to bring a new life into the world, and one missing from their ranks has returned...but where has she been? In the next chapter, the name of the sparkling will be revealed!

Chapter 16: Life

Knock Out woke up that day feeling like total slag, even more than usual. He hadn't felt this bad since he first found out he was 'infected' with the sparkling. When he tried to raise his body from the medbay berth, he felt a sharp pain shoot down his legs. It took a few moments of staying frozen in an awkward position before he was able fully raise up and get off the berth for a little walk around the Autobot base. The entire time he was there, the only places he was banned from was the exit and the storage hall. Well, he could go to the storage hall IF he had an escort…and that escort was usually Bulkhead.

Well, after the last trip, he didn't want to go back.

And it involved seeing the stasis-locked Airachnid trapped in an Insecticon pod behind a locked door.

The sight of it almost made him faint. What possessed the Autobots to bring THAT back to their base!? He knew how dangerous Airachind was; Nocturne even feared her and the bug was responsible for Breakdown being, as the humans say, 'six feet under'. He still wondered what happened to his body…

Knock Out shook the morbid thoughts from his processor before he popped his back struts back into place and headed for the medbay door. As he went to press the button to open the door, the pain hit him again. What was wrong with him today? Then again…the bigger the sparkling got the more uncomfortable things it did to his body. The second wave of pain subsided again and he managed to exit the medbay.

"Whoa, KO…didn't think you were awake." Bulkhead noticed while he was on monitor duty.

"Hey, I don't recharge ALL the time." He paused and let out a sigh. "I just needed to move…to do something other than rest."

"Ratchet said you needed rest, whether you want to admit it or not."

"Where is everyone else?"

"Prime's out scouting, Quickslinger's out looking for Hawkeye and Nocturne, and everyone else is around here somewhere with the kids."

Knock Out just nodded when the pain hit him once again. It was easy for Bulkhead to notice from the way the red mech nearly doubled over. The green mech hurriedly placed his hand on the smaller mech's back struts and led him back to the medbay.

"Knock Out, if you're in pain, you don't need to be walkin' around; you'll only make it worse."

"I'm…I'm just fine! Quit treating me like a youngling!"

Bulkhead rolled his optics. "If you were fine, you wouldn't be wincing right now."

"…Whatever."

The green mech opened the medbay doors up and led the red mech back to the berth from which he came. Knock Out hated having to be escorted around like a bomb was about to go off in the Autobot base and he was the designated target. Megatron didn't even know where the base was, for crying out loud! He decided to grumble about it later as he made a move to get back on the berth. But then…he didn't count on the puddle of warm liquid gushing out from between his legs. Bulkhead yelped and opened the medbay doors before going back to Knock Out.

"Ratchet, he lubricated all over the floor!" Bulkhead shouted as he laid the now-woozy Decepticon on the berth.

Just as fast as the statement had been made, the red and white mech, followed by Arcee, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen, came in and quickly examined Knock Out. The red mech's breathing became labored and his entire frame started trembling as if he were on a stimulant binge.

"His seal's ruptured." Ratchet concluded. "But he's practically ready to protoform right now!" He looked over at the other Autobots. "Arcee, get some clean water ready, and make it warm! Bumblebee, call Optimus and Quickslinger back to base immediately! Smokescreen and Bulkhead, you help me!"

Bulkhead carefully propped Knock Out up and Smokescreen took it upon himself to spread the red mech's legs apart. The action earned a whimper out of his vocal processor, causing the blue and white mech to back off a moment before going back. Knock Out groaned and felt completely helpless and completely clueless. As a medic he would immediately know what to do in delivering a sparkling and could even do it himself. But HE was the one having it, and he felt his processor go completely blank. Except…

"…Nocturne…" Knock Out moaned.

All of the Autobots in the medbay stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the red mech. He thrashed his helm around and moaned even louder, "…Nocturne…where are you!?"

The sound of the groundbridge activating twice reached the medbay followed by Optimus and Quickslinger entering the medbay. Ratchet was visibly irritated that more 'Bots than he needed were in the medbay, but he couldn't really start an argument with the red and blue mech right now. The purple femme curiously looked around and tried to get a look in-between Knock Out's legs, but she backed off when she felt a glare come her way from the Autobot medic.

"Quickslinger, take over for Bulkhead! You, Arcee, and Smokescreen stay in here. Everyone else must wait outside…and please keep the humans from sneaking in here." Ratchet commanded.

The other Autobots exited the medbay, leaving the red and white mech to concentrate on Knock Out. Quickslinger came and grasped Knock Out's hand, which he held tightly. Ratchet looked over the red mech again before commanding, "All right Knock Out…this is going to be very painful. I need you to breathe…and then on the count of three…push."

Knock Out looked up at the Autobot medic with widened optics. "Push!? You mean I have a…"

"Yes…Nocturne's sting caused you to develop a port for the sparkling to exit out of. Now quit complaining and concentrate!" He paused and narrowed his optics. "All right, ready Knock Out? One…two…three…push!"

The red mech hesitated at first but started to push. Why…why was Nocturne missing this? She was still alive; he felt it…but why wasn't she here with him? Why was she missing the birth of their sparkling? Was she being held captive? If not by Megatron or MECH…then by who? He broke out of the questions racing through his processor when he could feel something…slowly starting to come out. He stopped for a moment to cycle some rapid intakes, barely getting any air into his systems. He continued on but quickly started to feel exhausted.

"Easy Knock Out, not so hard." Ratchet lightly scolded. "You're doing just fine, but take it easy. Now keep going, you're almost there."

Smokescreen immediately walked away and went to a corner when he felt like he was about to purge his fuel tanks. The red and white mech rolled his optics before shouting, "Smokescreen, get yourself together and grab a towel! Arcee, bring that water over to the counter!"

"Come on mech, you're doing great! Just don't pull something or you'll pass out!" Quickslinger coached the best she could.

"…That's not very encouraging, fragging Autobot!" Knock Out shouted before another moan escaped his vocal processor. "Hurry and GET THIS SPARKLING OUT OF ME!"

"I will if you'd just shut up and push, for Primus' sake!" Ratchet countered. "Now keep going, the helm's out!"

At the words 'helm's out', Knock Out gasped and decided to push harder. It was almost out…it needed to be out of him. But still…it wouldn't get to meet its mother…and that made him feel horrible. But he remembered what Serlena said…that the sparkling loved him and couldn't wait to meet him. Well…he certainly wasn't going to disappoint this sparkling. The red mech gave one more hard push, aided by Ratchet's pulling, and felt the sparkling fully exit. The Autobot medic patted the sparkling's back struts, causing fluid to come out of its mouth and causing it to emit a piercing wail. Smokescreen handed Ratchet the towel after the sparkling's Energon line was cut and the red and white mech vigorously rubbed it down before taking it to the water Arcee set up and washing it. A smile formed on his lip components and he looked at Knock Out.

"Knock Out…would you like to meet your son?"

The red mech weakly lifted his helm and softly asked, "My…my son?"

Ratchet nodded as he dried the mechling and wrapped him in a blanket. He walked over to the weakened red mech and placed the sparkling in his waiting arms. Knock Out stared at his son and examined his features. He had his red helm and his frame, but his chest and abdominal plating were black and his legs both black and red. The little mechling clung to Knock Out's chestplate and cried softly before opening his optics. They were ruby, but designed like Nocturne's. Knock Out couldn't help but smile; he was absolutely gorgeous.

Outside the medbay, Bulkhead, Optimus, and Bumblebee waited anxiously for the results on Knock Out. Miko was basically pacing, but Jack and Raf killed time by playing cards with Shane. Everyone stopped and looked up when the medbay doors opened and Ratchet stepped out.

"Ratchet…how did everything go?" Optimus asked curiously.

Ratchet wore a small smile. "Everything went perfectly fine. Knock Out has a little mech now."

Miko cheered and jumped up and down. "All right, it's a boy! We'd better go to a flower shop and get something for Doc Knock!"

Arcee, Quickslinger, and Smokescreen exited the medbay in time to see everyone else discussing the sparkling's birth. A few seconds later, without warning and without anyone at the controls, the groundbridge activated. The Autobots and humans looked at the portal to see who was coming through and how they activated it. To their shock…

"Hawkeye?" Bulkhead asked hopefully.

The black femme slowly exited the groundbrige and barely got a word out before she collapsed onto the floor. Arcee and Bulkhead rushed over and propped her up as Ratchet recorded her vitals. Bumblebee readied an Energon infusion pump as the green mech carried the semi-conscious Hawkeye to a nearby berth to be given the Energon she needed just to hang on.

"Hawkeye…what did you do while you were gone…?" Arcee asked in a tone barely over a whisper.


	17. Peace

Author's Note: Knock Out is recovering from the birth of the sparkling, and he has a few private discussions with Hawkeye, who has gained new intel on what has possibly happened to Nocturne. What happens when he wants to go look for her with the Autobot's help?

* * *

Chapter 17: Peace

Knock Out groaned as he felt his optics online in the dimly-lit medbay. He focused them on a Cybertronian clock and found it to be a few minutes after midnight. He awoke to find himself on a clean berth with an Energon line hooked up to his arm. Had he really been asleep that long? He sat up a little and noticed how much easier it was to do now. The swelling in his abdominal plating was gone, but he had a lingering soreness in his pelvic plating. He happened to look to his side…and he saw his sparkling sound asleep in what humans called a bassinet. He was okay… The red mech tried to reach over and pick him up, but he was afraid he was going to drop him.

"Need some help?" A familiar voice asked.

Knock Out looked up at the faceplate that belonged to none-other than Hawkeye. The black femme had a mobile Energon line hooked to her arm, enabling her to get up and walk around without hassle. The red mech blinked his optics several times before he asked in a quiet tone, "…Hawkeye? W-Where were you?"

"I was out looking for Nocturne…but got carried away and didn't come back until I was all but depleted of Energon." She paused and stared at the mechling she was now cradling. "He really is something… You and Nocturne made something amazing."

The former Decepticon stayed silent as Hawkeye placed his sparkling in his arms. Knock Out carefully cradled him and ran his finger over his cheekplate, causing his tiny optics to twitch. His hand immediately went to hold the sparkling's tiny one, watching as the small set of fingers grasped his thumb.

"Knock Out…I can't tell you how cute he is…" Hawkeye admired.

Knock Out frowned. "…He's not cute."

Hawkeye's faceplate dropped and she looked at him with pure disbelief. "Knock Out…"

The red mech suddenly smiled. "He's absolutely beautiful."

The black femme breathed a sigh of relief; she really thought for a second that he hated his sparkling. She stared at the two of them for a silent moment before asking, "…Does he have a name yet?"

Knock Out continued to eye his sparkling with amazement as he answered, "…Torque. His name is Torque."

Hawkeye smirked. "Torque, huh? It's fitting; I can't complain."

"You'd better not, or I'll shove my Energon prod up your tailpipe." Knock Out retorted, trying his best not to curse in front of the sparkling.

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Hawkeye fired back jokingly. Her optics locked onto Torque's sleeping face as she continued, "You know…I never thought you'd be this good with a sparkling…but now it's like you've taken care of sparklings your entire life…like you automatically know what to do."

Knock Out shrugged. "I suppose it's the mech version of what humans call a 'maternal instinct'. The moment he started crying…it's like I immediately knew to just hold him close so he could listen to my spark pulses."

"Why that?"

"Well, it reminds him of where he spent the past nine months."

The black femme chuckled. "He's a smart kid."

The red mech's faceplate suddenly grew serious and he locked his ruby optics with the femme's cyan optics behind her visor glasses. "So…did you find her?"

Hawkeye shook her helm, much to his dismay. "No, I didn't find her…but I've got a lead."

Knock Out's optics widened and he leaned in closer, being careful not to drop Torque. "What did you find?"

Hawkeye took a seat in the chair next to the berth and bassinet. She set the Energon reserve she was hooked to next to the chair and breathed out a deep sigh. "Up towards this place called the Rocky Mountains…I found a set of underground tunnels…tunnels that mankind is blissfully unaware of. I found a lot of activity going on…and it wasn't from the Decepticons OR MECH. But before I could investigate further, I was chased off and all but depleted of Energon. I have a hunch, though…"

"Who do you suppose is working those tunnels?"

"I have a hunch…it's these guys that call themselves Predacons. Ring a bell?"

Knock Out shook his helm slowly. "No…I'm not familiar with them…but Megatron or even Optimus might know about them. Do you think they're the ones who have Nocturne?"

"If they do…they don't want anyone else to know."

Knock Out's attention shifted when he heard Torque coo and reach for his creator's hand. The sparkling was awake and wanted his attention, causing a smile to form on his face as he grasped his son's hand again. Knock Out's smile widened as he whispered, "I love you too, Torque."

Hawkeye glanced towards the medbay door and sighed. "Well…I'd better get out of here before Ratchet catches me roaming…again. In the meantime, be careful not to fall asleep on the sparkling."

Knock Out suddenly wore a deep frown. "Don't even suggest that. I'm well enough to get up and put him back in his berth!"

"Hey…just being cautious." The black femme defended before exiting the medbay. "Goodnight, KO…"

"…Good night…" The red mech answered back before turning his attention back to Torque.

The morning seemed to fly in swiftly for everyone in the Autobot base. Hardly anyone could sleep, and it wasn't because Torque was crying. To their surprise, the mechling was as quiet as the creatures humans called 'church mice'. No, recharge was scarce for the Autobots because of the excitement that a sparkling was born after so many years. They were also plagued with a question concerning the little one: what would be his affiliation? Would Knock Out choose it for him, or would the sparkling get to decide once he was older? Some of them actually prayed to Primus that the red mech would allow him to be an Autobot. But that was too early for now; now the focus was heightened more than ever to find the missing Nocturne. That…and helping Knock Out get adjusted to the sparkling.

"Don't hold the bottle up so high Knock Out, he'll get choked." Ratchet scolded.

Knock Out was currently cradling Torque and holding a bottle of low-grade to the sparkling's lips. He proceeded to frown at Ratchet and muttered, "I know that! He won't get choked; he's just very hungry, that's all!"

"Well, you don't need to let him drink so fast! He'll get the hiccups!"

"Don't tell me how to raise my sparkling, Autobot."

Bulkhead chuckled and stepped up next to the red and white mech. "Aw, lay off 'im, Ratchet. It's not gonna be the end of the world if the kid gets an upset fuel tank. Besides, you gotta let Knock Out learn this stuff on his own for a little bit."

Torque just lay silently in his creator's arm as he happily drank the Energon he was offered. The big green one was funny, and the big red and white one was always grumpy, even though he was nice and held him when he was exposed to the bright lights and cold. He also really liked the black femme, even when she teased his creator. The blue one scared him a little, but the others didn't bother him much. Once his fuel tank was full to capacity, he spat out the bottle and cast his ruby optics onto the red mech. Knock Out proceeded to hold him up to his chestplate and rock him. The mechling blinked his optics slowly before falling into a deep recharge, a soft gurgle escaping his lip components.

"Do you need me to put him in his berth?" Ratchet asked.

Knock Out shook his helm. "No…don't disturb him. I don't mind him laying here; he's more important than my finish."

Everyone in the room blinked in total surprise. Knock Out actually put someone above his finish when it came to his priority list? The condition of his finish had always been his utmost priority…but it seemed Nocturne and now little Torque opened up something in his once cold and arrogant spark. The red mech stared at everyone and asked with suspicion, "…What?"

"N-Nothing, KO…" Bulkhead answered quickly.

The former Decepticon sat quietly with his sparkling for a moment before quietly calling out, "Autobots…may I speak with Hawkeye in private?"

The Autobots looked at each other and then Hawkeye and Knock Out before leaving the room to allow the two to speak about whatever needed to be spoken about. The black femme walked up to the red mech, smiling at the sparkling sleeping on his chestplate, before asking, "What can I do for you, Doc?"

"Are you going back out anytime soon to look for Nocturne?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "Well…yeah. I'm going back to those Rocky Mountains to finish what I started and this time I'm prepared. Why?"

Knock Out stared at her with the most serious gaze he ever gave another person besides Breakdown and Nocturne before answering, "I'm going with you."

The black femme stepped back in shock and sternly shook her helm. "No, no, no. There is NO way I'm taking you with me. You just had a sparkling, and I'm not letting you put Torque in any danger!"

"I can fend for myself; I'm not what humans call a 'damsel in distress'. Besides…maybe if we both go, they'll drop their guard, or they'll turn tail when they see you have someone with you."

"No means no, Knock Out."

The red mech sighed and stared at her with pleading ruby optics. "Hawkeye…please, I'm begging you. I have to find Nocturne…I have to find her and let her know that we have a son. I have…I have to let her know how I really feel…how much I missed her… Hawkeye, Torque is my child, and over my dead shell will they lay a hand on him…so PLEASE…"

Hawkeye bit her lower lip component. How could she argue with that? Sure, it was dangerous…but truthfully, Knock Out had to be the one to find her and bring her home, and share the love of their son with her. She stared once again at the mechling's sleeping faceplate. He was so peaceful… A sigh escaped her vocal processor and she crossed her arms over her chestplate.

"All right…you're coming with me." She paused and glanced at the door. "But I'm almost afraid of what Optimus and Ratchet are gonna say…"


	18. Journeys

Author's Note: Knock Out receives possible information on Nocturne, and along with newborn Torque, goes with Hawkeye to the Rocky Mountains. What will they find there, and who is responsible for the disappearance of his bondmate? The song lyrics are from "Waiting for You" by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who would be the perfect voice actress for Nocturne

* * *

Chapter 18: Journeys

"They can't possibly be SERIOUS!" A voice inside the Autobot base ranted. "What would possess Hawkeye to say yes!?"

"How long do you think they've been gone?" Arcee asked as she stared at the groundbridge.

"Ugh…Hawkeye was gonna go back out to look for Nocturne." Bulkhead groaned. "I guess she decided to go early and KO insisted on coming."

A loud snarl escaped from the red and white mech's vocal processor. "But WHY did Knock Out take Torque along!? He's barely over a day old and he's placing him in grave DANGER!

Optimus sighed and went to the master computer and typed in a few commands. He could easily be able to trace the coordinates logged into the groundbridge to find where Knock Out and Hawkeye went to early that morning. Even though he didn't show it, he was astounded as to how the two, with little Torque, managed to sneak from the base without anyone hearing the sound of the groundbridge opening. The only indication that led them to conclude they left…was a note written in Cybertronian left by the red mech. Typical…even after having a sparkling, Knock Out still had some arrogance in him.

"According to the activity that occurred just a few hours ago…Hawkeye and Knock Out commanded the groundbrige to take them to a place…called the Rocky Mountains."

Quickslinger's violet optics widened. "Optimus…that's where Hawkeye came from after she was gone for over a week. I overheard her and Knock Out talking about what she found before she came back."

"What'd she say?" Smokescreen asked out of curiosity.

"She said she ran into these things called 'Predacons' in these underground tunnels."

Ratchet's optics shot open as wide as they could. "Predacons!? Predacons are here on Earth!?"

'Do you mean those things Mimicus told us about?' Bumblebee beeped. 'What exactly are they?'

The red and blue mech decided to be the one to explain. "Predacons are beings that have both robotic and organic components, like Shane. They start out as normal Cybertronians, but infuse themselves with organic DNA to become hybrids. They are like Insecticons…but are much more dangerous. Whereas Insecticons function as a single mind, Predacons are independent of each other; they can think and scheme, and are highly intelligent. It is believed they were the ones who destroyed Mimicus' home city of Arcadia."

"Wait Optimus…" Bulkhead interrupted. "You think those Predacons have something to do with Nocturne? What if her saying that she was once a human isn't so crazy?"

"Bulkhead has a point." Ratchet quietly agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if they began experimenting on human beings. In fact, the primary Predacons have DNA of Earth animals inside them." He paused and swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. "But if they were the ones that created Nocturne…"

"Optimus, we'll go after them!" Smokescreen volunteered. "If they have the sparkling with them, then getting them back here is top priority. Quickslinger and I can get them out fast!"

Meanwhile, two large figures were scaling the base of the Rocky Mountains, one with a large blaster drawn. Knock Out huddled close to Hawkeye, wearing a cowl that concealed a sling across his chestplate, which housed little Torque. Fortunately for them, the sparkling was asleep, so he wouldn't draw any unwanted attention.

"Do you remember how to get in?" Knock Out quietly asked the black femme.

Hawkeye placed her hand on the rock and dirt and started patting it. "There's a concealed switch here somewhere… If I could just remember the exact placement…"

After a few moments of patting and getting her hand covered in dirt, the black femme's hand came down on part of the rock and caused it to sink in. She and the red mech heard a click, followed by a low rumble. They looked to the mountain wall and saw part of it slowly rise up, as demonstrated with the Autobot base entry. Knock Out pressed his sparkling close, shielding his audio sensors from the noise so he wouldn't awaken and cry. The rising door finally came to a stop and revealed a dark tunnel. The only sources of light were a few Energon-powered lanterns hanging on the ceilings, rather retro if one thought about it.

_Your gentle voice I hear_

_Your words echo inside me_

_You said you long for me_

_That you love me_

"Let's go, Knock Out." Hawkeye ordered. "Make sure to keep Torque close; there's no telling how many there are."

"…I know that." Knock Out muttered.

_And I want to see it too_

_Feels just like I'm falling_

_Is there nothing I can do?_

_Wonder if you hear my calling?_

The mech and femme slowly walked down the quiet tunnel, their footsteps the only sounds resonating in the damp air. Knock Out let out a small gasp when he felt Torque stir and let out a small whimper. The red mech held him close and started whispering, "Sshh…it's okay Torque. Everything's going to be all right; don't be scared…"

Little Torque quieted down, but snuggled closer to his creator's chestplate and clung to it. Knock Out wondered why he would be scared of the darkness; after all, the sparkling spent nine months in darkness. He could already tell he was going to have some of his mother's personality: the shy, quiet, and caring type. He couldn't wait to see the look on Nocturne's face when she got to meet their son for the first time.

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_Where are you? I can't find you_

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_I'll wait forever for you_

"Knock Out, hide! Quickly!" Hawkeye harshly whispered as she ducked behind a corner.

The red mech followed suit and a few tense seconds passed before he saw why. Two massive disfigured creatures, about as big as the Insecticons, stomped down the passage they were about to enter before disappearing out of sight. So…those were the Predacons. Knock Out wanted to vomit just at the sight of them, and he was certainly glad his sparkling didn't get a look at them. After sensing that the coast was clear, the black femme went forward and urged the mech to follow.

"W-Were those really…?"

"Yeah, those were Predacons. Ugly, weren't they?"

"The Insecticons are ten times more pleasant…and that's saying a lot."

_Mum's gone to Heaven now_

_Why won't she come back down?_

_Does she have someone she loves more than me?_

The two walked down the next tunnel for a few moments before Hawkeye pulled out a tracking device. But this one was different compared to the ones Knock Out used to use on a daily basis. This one had a tube jutting out…and the tube was filled with Energon. That must've been an exclusive piece of technology only available to…whatever division or group the black femme was part of.

"What in the name of Cybertron is that thing?" Knock Out asked.

"It's a CNA tracker. This one locks onto a Cybertronian's signal by sniffing out their specific genetic code…and I swiped a sample of Nocturne's Energon when Serlena wasn't looking."

A smirk appeared on the red mech's lip components. "No wonder you made such a good Decepticon in the beginning."

Hawkeye rolled her optics. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Knock Out."

_I thought I could love you better_

_And we're always together_

_If we took some time apart_

_You would finally know my heart_

"Flattery? I'm just pointing out a fact." He paused before deciding to speak again. "You know, the time you were gone…you had Bulkhead worried sick."

"I'm sure everyone was worried sick…well, maybe not Arcee and Ratchet so much."

"I'm serious, Hawkeye. Don't tell anyone I told you this…but Bulkhead's in love with you."

The black femme stopped dead in her tracks and felt a dark blush flood her visage. Did she just hear those words come out of the red mech's mouth? Bulkhead was IN LOVE with HER? Come to think of it, he always seemed nervous and goofy around her, but she really thought nothing of it; she played it off as nervousness around a former Decepticon. But the green mech having a thing for her? Her only answer to that remark was a shaky, "…Is that right?"

"Are you going to be all right, Hawkeye?"

Hawkeye hastily nodded and muttered, "…Let's just keep going. We're getting close."

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_Where are you? I can't find you_

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_I'll wait forever for you_

The two continued to walk to the sound of the tracking device until they would see a faint green glow up ahead. The shade of green reminded Knock Out of synthetic Energon. Hmph…he would have to share his findings on it with the Autobots, even though they knew more about it than the Decepticons did. But this green was dimmer, more vile, like the transfluids that leaked out of sparkeaters. He rubbed Torque's back struts when he sensed the sparkling's fear rising. The tracking device started beeping erratically until the screen flashed red. That happened when they entered a large room.

"I think this is it." Hawkeye concluded.

_I've been in love with you and now you're gone_

_There's nothing left in my lonely room without you_

The room turned out to be a laboratory, several computers lining one of the walls, two large examination tables covered with dried Energon and torn cables, and many tanks with green fluid floating inside. Knock Out felt his fuel tank do a flip-flop and his Energon went cold. So…this is where the Predacons conducted experiments that even he wouldn't condone. There was no telling how many prisoners of war were brought to places like this and changed into Predacons against their will.

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_Where are you? I can't find you_

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_I'll wait forever for you_

Knock Out noticed Hawkeye walk up to one of the computers and insert a memory drive into it. He tilted his helm to the side and asked her, "What the Pit are you doing?"

"Gathering data from the Predacon archives. There's a chance Optimus'll want to see this."

"Good point. Once you're finished, can we please keep looking for Nocturne?"

"Don't rush me, pretty boy."

_I'm here and waiting for you_

_Where are you, I cannot, I cannot find you_

_I'm waiting for you_

_Where are you?_

_Where are you?_

The black femme happened to look over her shoulder towards the direction of the tanks when her optics widened. Inside the one at the very end in the corner…was a familiar shape in stasis. She fully turned around and called out, "Knock Out, get back in here!"

The red mech shushed her before answering back, "Keep it down! What is it?"

"…Look in the tank in the corner…I think it's…"

Knock Out walked towards said tank and narrowed his optics to get a better look at the shape inside it. Through the murky green liquid…he could see the shape of a certain someone he had been seeking for so long. His optics widened and a gasp escaped his vocal processor as he lifted his hood off his helm.

"…Nocturne…?"


	19. Reunion

Author's Note: Knock Out and Hawkeye find Nocturne in the Predacon laboratory...but what have they done to her during her captivity? Will she still remember Knock Out? How will she react to meeting their son?

* * *

Chapter 19: Reunion

Knock Out couldn't help but stare as he realized Nocturne was in stasis suspended in the vile green fluid. So…she had been held captive by the Predacons this entire time. But…why on earth would they want her so badly? Did she have some connection to them? Did they know things about her she didn't? He placed his hand on the tank and sunk his fingers into the glass, leaving superficial scratch marks.

"I can't believe it…" The red mech muttered. "I can't believe I finally found her…" He stared down at his sparkling. "Torque…we finally found Mommy…"

Hawkeye typed a few keys into the computer and started to collect the Predacons' data files. At the same time, she looked for a control for the tank system to release Nocturne. She found a button and decided to press it. After she did, a lurching sound came from the tanks. Knock Out backed away, afraid it sounded an alarm, but calmed down as Nocturne's tank slowly started to drain. Once it was gone, a hiss erupted from the base of the tank, followed by the glass tube rising up until the red and black femme was completely uncovered.

"Nocturne…?"

After a few seconds, her green optics snapped open…but something wasn't right. Once her optics locked with his, she snarled and lunged forward, knocking the red mech to the ground. The action jolted Torque and he awoke, letting out loud wails just a second later. Knock Out stared at the femme, who was more like a rabid animal, and his face paled as he could feel her killer intent. What did they do to her? What happened to the Nocturne he knew and had come to love?

"Nocturne! Nocturne, snap out of it! It's me, Knock Out!"

The red and black femme kept her denta bared as she sniffed the air around him. She blinked her optics and let out a faint gasp; the smell was so familiar and it brought back memories. Her attention shifted when she heard the crying sparkling…and that brought back more memories. She grunted and shuttered her optics several more times…and Knock Out finally saw the one he loved in her optics again.

"…Kn…Knock Out?"

A wide smile appeared on Knock Out's lip components. "Nocturne…!"

The both of them sat up and just stared at each other. After a silent moment, the red and black femme leaned forward and tightly hugged the red mech. He returned the same, lubricant streaming from his optics. Nocturne wiped away the lubricant in hers when she remembered the crying. She could see Knock Out whispering to something slung across his chest. Once the cries died down, the red mech smiled and began to unwrap whatever it was in the sling. And then the words came out of his mouth…

"Nocturne…I'd like you to meet our son, Torque."

Nocturne gasped when she heard the words 'our son'. Amazement rendered her speechless as the red mech pulled out a tiny sniffling sparkling from the sling. When he was placed in her arms, all of her emotions flooded out. Her optics lubricated further when she saw how beautiful he was…and he was even smiling at her; he knew who she was! She stroked Torque's faceplate and laughed when he grabbed her finger and began sucking on it.

"Knock Out…I can't believe we created such a beautiful little boy…" Her smile disappeared and she looked up at the red mech with guilt-riddled optics. "I…I'm so sorry I missed his birth… Please forgive me, Knock Out…"

Knock Out hugged the red and black femme close. "What matters now is that the three of us are together at last… We can go home…our temporary home, at least."

Hawkeye typed a few more keys before the computer beeped and she pulled out the memory drive. She perked up when she heard noises coming from one of the distant tunnels. The black femme turned to the family and stated, "Hate to interrupt your reunion, but we'd better get out of here fast before we're caught!"

Nocturne placed Torque back into the sling in front of Knock Out's chestplate and the two of them got up off the floor. They quickly stuck behind Hawkeye and the three sprinted down the tunnels, being careful to avoid any Predacon soldiers. When they stopped to hide from approaching beasts, they could hear one speaking to a silent other.

"Gah! I've been experimenting on that failure for months, but she STILL refuses to access her true purpose! Those idiotic Autobots and Decepticons have infested our new home for too long…and they have to be exterminated somehow! But I guess I'll just have to find another test subject; there are billions of humans crawling around, after all."

Knock Out's optics narrowed and his spark dropped. "I know that voice… That's…that's Snowcat!"

"You mean that snow leopard 'Con?" Hawkeye asked. "I never saw her while I was with you guys; only heard about her. What's she like?"

"Let's just say she has more sadism than I did…"

Once Snowcat and the Predacon following her were gone, the three ran down the tunnel and got closer to the exit. The black femme was able to remember the exact path; she had that good of a current memory and she left faint markers to trace the path back outside. As they kept running, Nocturne tripped over an exposed rock, causing a loud thud to resonate through the tunnels. It didn't take but seconds later for loud snarls to echo from the far end. The red and black femme looked towards the opposite end before looking back up at Knock Out and shouting, "Go! Get the baby out of here; don't worry about me!"

The red mech shook his helm and quickly helped her up before stating firmly, "I'm not losing you again."

Hawkeye readied her blasters and got behind Knock Out and Nocturne. The snarls and growls got closer before she shouted, "You guys get a head start! I'll slow them down!"

"Just don't let yourself get captured!" Knock Out retorted.

The black femme saw approaching shadows and rapidly discharged her blasters, causing the Predacons to screech and squeal. Knock Out and Nocturne sprinted forward, guided by the faint light of day. The sounds of gunfire and snarls awoke Torque and he began to cry once again. Knock Out held him closer so he wouldn't fall out and took hold of Nocturne's hand, helping her keep up. Hawkeye drew closer as well…along with two large Predacons. The black femme pulled out a hidden Energon grenade and hurled it into the mouth of one of the beasts. With the throw successful, she dashed forward and shoved Knock Out and Nocturne forward towards the entrance of the cave.

And then came a form of salvation.

A groundbridge portal opened to reveal Smokescreen and Quickslinger. All of them ducked when an explosion shook the entrance to the tunnels. One Predacon was destroyed…but the other came out singed and lunged towards Nocturne. The blue and white mech blasted it in the chest while the purple femme slung several knives into its optics and through its processor. It finally dropped dead. Smokescreen and Quickslinger grabbed onto Knock Out and Nocturne and led them back through the groundbridge, Hawkeye catching up a tenth of a second later.

The group walked through and found themselves back in the Autobot base. The other Autobots were there and waiting, and Ratchet was obviously not in a pleasant mood. Of course who wouldn't be, considering they brought a sparkling into the midst of potential bloodshed? Even though Torque was unscathed, the red and white mech was still fuming. He stomped up to the red mech and almost jabbed his finger into his optic.

"What were you thinking bringing a sparkling to a Predacon-infested base!? He could've been killed, for Primus' sake!"

"Torque needed to see his mother! Besides, we all got out okay; aren't you happy!?"

"If it lightens the mood in any way…" Hawkeye began as she pulled out the memory drive. "I downloaded the Predacons' archives so you guys could go over them."

Optimus came forward and took it from the black femme. He cast his optics on Knock Out and stated in a firm voice. "Knock Out, I know you had good intentions in reuniting with Nocturne and acquainting her with your son…but do NOT put him in harm's way again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Optimus…don't blame him." Nocturne interrupted. "Let me shoulder it…"

"The important matter as of now…is that your family is whole once again." The red and blue mech finished with a small smile.

Ratchet came in and quickly took Torque from Knock Out. "If you don't mind, I'm going to examine him to make sure he really did come out unharmed."

"Frag you…" The red mech muttered under his breath.


	20. Human Taint

Author's Note: Torque is now three months old, and he and his parents are still under the protection of the Autobots. When Bulkhead is left in charge of the sparkling, what happens when an enemy long-thought dead returns?

* * *

Chapter 20: Human Taint

"Who's a cute little mechling?" Arcee asked in a high-pitched voice. "That's right, you're a cute little mechling!"

The blue femme currently had a turn with Torque and was holding him up in the air close to her faceplate, making the sparkling giggle madly. It had almost been three months since he was born, and since his mother returned from capture. Knock Out and Nocturne still stayed with the Autobots, even though they wouldn't declare themselves Autobots…at least not yet.

"Come on Arcee…when's it my turn to play with him?" Bulkhead whined.

"With those hands of yours?" Arcee asked incredulously. "No offense Bulk…but you'd probably crush him by accident."

"No I wouldn't!" The green mech argued. "I may be big, but I'm not a brute!"

"For Primus' sake, don't start an argument; you'll make him cry!" The voice belonging to Knock Out scolded. "Besides, it's time for his nap."

The blue femme let out a small whine as she handed the mechling over to his creator. Torque's faceplate instantly lit up and he began cooing and reaching for Knock Out's cheekplates. Knock Out couldn't help but smile and planted a kiss on the sparkling's helm. Nocturne stood in the doorway of their room and smiled; she loved Torque and especially loved how much Knock Out loved him. Her smile widened when the red mech came to her with Torque and the mechling reached out for her to take hold of him.

"Aw, Mommy loves you too, Torque!" Nocturne stated in a giddy tone as she took their son and held him.

The mechling's response was to bring his small hand to his mouth and start sucking on it, his other one clinging to his co-creator's chestplate. The red and black femme took notice of Bulkhead's disappointment and a small frown graced her lip components. In a way, she could tell that the green mech has a suppressed desire to be a father to a child, at least one day. But if Hawkeye returned his feelings, would she agree to have a sparkling with him? As aloof as the black femme was, there was no telling. Nocturne suddenly smiled and kept her optics on Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, as soon as Torque wakes up, you can play with him. I believe you won't crush him, but just be careful." She paused and handed Torque back to Knock Out so he could place him in his berth. "Oh, and if you take him out of the base to show him the sights, just stay on the lookout; he's not ready for other areas yet."

Bulkhead's faceplate lit up instantly. "O-Okay, sure thing!"

Nocturne turned to her bondmate and saw a frown on his face. He cradled Torque close and muttered to the femme, "I really hope you're right that he won't crush him with those monster hands."

"Be a little more trusting altogether towards the Autobots; if they hadn't provided us with shelter, the three of us wouldn't be here." She paused and kissed Knock Out on his helm. "Once Torque's asleep, why don't you and I have some fun of our own?"

The red mech smirked and let out a low purr. "I like the sound of that…"

A few hours passed and Torque woke up from his nap, ready for a feeding. At the same time, the humans arrived and Miko was especially eager to see the mechling awake. The Japanese girl sat down on the edge of the upper walkway and watched as Knock Out cradled Torque and held a bottle of Energon to his lips. Bulkhead also stood on the sidelines along with Smokescreen and watched the sparkling feed.

"Aww…he's so cute, Doc." Miko awed over the mechling. "Bulk, when are you gonna make sparklings with Hawkeye?"

Bulkhead immediately blushed and sputtered out his words. "M-Miko, don't say that out loud! I'm not even sure Hawkeye likes me…"

"Give her some time to warm up, Bulkhead." Nocturne reassured the green mech. "I honestly think that you two go great together; like how Arcee and the one you called Cliffjumper must've worked so well together."

The green mech sighed. "Yeah…'Cee and Cliff did go well together."

Everyone's attention shifted when they heard the sound of Knock Out patting Torque's back struts and a small burp coming out of the sparkling's vocal processor. Since switching the grade of Torque's Energon, the red mech and his bondmate had to basically burp the mechling after his feedings to ensure he wouldn't suffer from a backed-up fuel tank and overproduce exhaust. Knock Out laid the sparkling into a portable berth and gave him a metallic rattle to play with.

"Are you ready to play with Uncle Bulkhead, sweetie?" The red and black femme asked her son.

Torque smiled and offered up a little "Gah", as he reached up for his co-creator. Nocturne giggled and picked him back up out of the berth, being careful not to move him around too quickly or everyone would be seeing his fuel again. The red and black femme walked up to Bulkhead and carefully placed Torque in his large hands. The sparkling whimpered for a second but he immediately calmed down when he recognized his 'uncle'.

"All right kiddo, why don't I take you to the lookout and let you see the sun?" Bulkhead paused and looked over at Knock Out and Nocturne. "Why don't you two get some alone time? I know you haven't been able to get it lately."

Knock Out smirked. "That sounds like a good idea." He wrapped his arm around Nocturne's waist. "Dearest, why don't we take a little drive around the desert?"

The red and black femme laughed. "It's a drive for you, but it'll be a run for me."

The bondmates changed to their vehicle forms and exited the base to embark on a long-needed drive and run. Once they were gone, Smokescreen decided to head out with Quickslinger in the storage area. Once everyone else was gone, Miko went up to Bulkhead and exclaimed, "Let's take Torque to the bridge near town!"

"Whoa Miko, the little guy's not ready to go that far from home yet; Nocturne said if we take him outside, the lookout's it!"

The Japanese girl scoffed. "Torque's gonna be fine; what they don't know won't hurt them! Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Miko…"

"Come on, Bulkhead, please?"

The green mech pressed his lip components together in frustration before he let out a sigh and muttered, "…All right, but just this once. And we don't tell Knock Out and Nocturne about it, all right?"

Miko offered a mock salute. "My lips are sealed."

Bulkhead went over to the groundbridge controls and activated them, setting coordinates for the bridge outside of town. Torque whimpered for a moment, a typical response to the bridge activating, but felt safe with a big mech like Bulkhead. Miko was the first to run through the portal, followed by the green mech, who was walking slower with the sparkling in tow. They passed through the portal and found themselves underneath the bridge outside of the humans' neighborhood. Torque blinked his optics at the setting sun and at the sight of the bridge. Bulkhead took immediate notice of the mechling gurgling and reaching for the bridge.

"I'm not sure you can handle that bridge yet, Torquey. You can't even pick out a vehicle form yet." Bulkhead joked.

Torque tilted his helm at the words 'vehicle form', typical of an infant. Miko went up to the mechling as the green mech lowered him to her level and patted him on the helm. "When you grow up, you need to pick out a really cool vehicle form! Maybe a sports car like your dad, or how about a monster truck? Ooh, maybe a motorcycle like Arcee! Or maybe you can turn into an animal like your mommy!"

The mechling laughed and reached out for Miko. The Japanese girl returned the laugh and made faces at him, causing his laughter to grow louder. But the sparkling's loud laughter drew the attention of someone…someone thought to be long-forgotten.

And that was made concrete when a missile headed for them.

Bulkhead noticed it just in time, grabbing Miko and running. The missile barely missed them, and the impact caused Torque to start crying. The green mech shot his head in the direction the projectile came from to see who was attempting to cause them harm. He couldn't believe his optics…

"…Breakdown!?"

There, standing meters from them, was the blue mech, who was thought to be missing in action. But…something wasn't right about him. His body was beaten up and rusted, his optic was a fouler shade of amber, and…where was his optic patch? It also struck Bulkhead as odd was that if Breakdown recognized that the sparkling with him had to be Knock Out's, he wouldn't have attacked.

"So this is where the Autobots and their allies frequent? And…" 'Breakdown' paused and took notice of the wailing mechling. "It seems Cybertronians are capable of breeding."

Bulkhead immediately knew that the body belonged to Breakdown, but the voice didn't. And the way he was speaking…it was so familiar. But how was that possible? He was supposed to have been crushed.

"…Silas?"

Miko shot her head up at Bulkhead. "The leader of MECH!? But he's supposed to be dead!"

"You are mistaken, child." Silas interjected. "Thanks to efforts of my now-deceased subordinates, I am the perfect combination of man and machine. And I believe that Megatron will be interested in the latest developments concerning the Autobots…" He paused and brought out Breakdown's hammer. "And that child will be the proof I need."

Bulkhead held the mechling closer. "You're not gonna take Torque!"

Silas didn't have to make a snappy comeback; he just ran forward and, with speed that Breakdown would be envious of, smashed the green mech in the chest and grabbed the mechling. Miko rushed over to the fallen Bulkhead and could only watch as Silas offered a smirk and carry Torque away. As soon as he was gone, Bulkhead coughed and sat up.

"We gotta get back to base…we gotta tell the others…"

"…I'll call Ratchet…"

Almost an hour later, Knock Out and Nocturne returned to base from their free time. They felt refreshed and exhilarated at having some alone time at last…but when they entered the base, they knew something was wrong. VERY wrong…

"What's going on?" Knock Out asked. "Is everything all right?"

"And where's Torque?" Nocturne joined in. "He's not sick, is he?"

Bulkhead shook his helm bitterly and gritted out, "Torque…Torque's been kidnapped."


	21. Retribution

Author's Note: Learning of their son's kidnapping, Knock Out and Nocturne go in pursuit of Megatron and CYLAS. Meanwhile, Dreadwing begins to question Megatron's rhetoric when he must make a vital decision involving the sparkling. At the same time, two other Cybertronians begin to exhibit feelings for each other. Will Torque be brought back home safe and sound?

* * *

Chapter 21: Retribution

"KIDNAPPED!?" Knock Out screamed. "WHO TOOK HIM!?"

Bulkhead narrowed his optics and couldn't bear to look the red mech and the red and black femme in the optics. "It was Silas…but it gets worse." He paused and clenched his fists, the guilt causing his anger to go into overdrive. "Silas is parading around…in Breakdown's body."

Knock Out's optics widened. "…Breakdown? But…Breakdown's supposed to be dead!"

"Dead? What are you talking about?" Arcee interrupted.

Nocturne fought to keep herself from going into a frenzy as she decided to answer. "While we were still with the Decepticons…Airachnid killed Breakdown when he and Dreadwing were sent to terminate her." She paused and cast a heated glare towards the green mech. "How could you let this happen!? I thought I told you to stay at the base with him!"

Miko stepped forward. "Nocturne…that part's my fault. I talked Bulkhead into going to the bridge outside town. I'm really sorry…and I take full responsibility for it… But…we'll get Torque back no matter what!"

"I'm honestly surprised the Autobots haven't deliberately stepped on YOU yet!" Knock Out retorted. "You knowingly put our sparkling in DANGER! Don't you get that Cybertronian infants are just as fragile as human infants!?"

The red and black femme suddenly broke down into sobs and tightly hugged Knock Out. "…I can't believe our baby's missing…"

The green mech turned his helm to them. "He probably won't be missing for long…I know where he's going."

The red mech cast his lubricated ruby optics on the Autobots, his face contorted into a scowl. "…Where?"

"He's going to Megatron."

Meanwhile, on the Nemesis, Megatron stared incredulously at the sight before him. 'Breakdown' was standing in front of him, carrying a wailing sparkling that looked oddly familiar. The Decepticon leader knew that this abomination wasn't the blue mech thought to be terminated; why did it even come here? He got an answer when the blue 'mech' bowed.

"I am CYLAS, as in Cybernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis. I have come to you with a proposition…and an interesting little find."

Megatron growled. "…And what is it you have to offer?"

"I offer this gift…a weapon that you can use to destroy the Autobots and humanity once and for all." He paused and held Torque by the scruff of his neck cables. "And…a little lump of clay ripe for the molding."

Megatron examined the sparkling though he was getting fed up by his loud crying. He studied the frame and facial features of the mechling…and found a disturbing resemblance to two soldiers that were still on his termination list.

"So…Knock Out and that filthy being actually BRED…" He paused and turned to his first lieutenant as he took the sparkling from CYLAS. "Dreadwing…take this little abomination…and terminate it."

Dreadwing blinked his optics in shock. "You…want me to kill a child?"

"Do you question my orders!? I said TERMINATE IT!"

The blue and yellow mech scowled and took the sparkling from his leader before answering, "…Yes, my liege…"

Back at the Autobot base, Agent Fowler called in just in time to report some important news to the Autobots, and it involved the sightings of CYLAS. Knock Out and Nocturne especially paid attention, hoping the findings would lead them to their son. According to Agent Fowler, a military satellite called Project Damocles had been stolen from a base, and the perpetrator was none other than 'Breakdown'. Some of the images taken showed 'Breakdown' carrying a small red and black sparkling as he razed the base to the ground and grabbed the satellite. Nocturne had to keep Knock Out from shooting the computer screen when the images of their frightened sparkling were displayed.

"It's bad enough that a human from that terrorist group has our son!" The red mech snarled. "But for him to add insult to injury by waltzing around in my dead assistant's body…THAT HUMAN WILL PAY!"

To Knock Out's surprise, Nocturne let out an animalistic growl and her optics glowed a toxic green. "…Not if I get to him first…"

"Knock Out, Nocturne, we will make sure that Torque is returned safe and sound…but do not let your anger cause you to do something that cannot be undone." Optimus cautioned. "We must also prevent the Decepticons from utilizing the power of that satellite. If the satellite is activated, we will have Rafael attempt to disable it manually."

"Fowler said that the closest satellite uplink for it is in Colorado, so I'll bridge you there." Ratchet concluded.

As Ratchet opened the groundbridge, Knock Out and Nocturne stepped forward, determined to go with the Autobots. Optimus held his hand out in front of them in protest.

"We will get him back."

"Prime…we have to go. If Megatron's there…then we'll force him to give him back." Knock Out argued. "We…We can't live without our sparkling…"

Optimus truly couldn't fathom how much sparkbreak the bondmates were experiencing, and he hoped he would never have to experience that. Their sparkling was so precious to them…and he even feared that Megatron would have him terminated as retaliation against the former medic and the femme. He felt this would be against his better judgment…but what else could he do?

"…You may come along with us…but don't do anything rash."

Back at the Nemesis, Dreadwing stood silently over the still-wailing Torque, who was laid out on a berth in the medbay Knock Out once occupied. He had his sword in his hand and gripped it tightly, contemplating over what to do. The mechling may have been born to traitors…but the child did nothing to Megatron…and all sparklings were innocent lives. He held his free hand out to Torque, and was surprised to see the mechling grab onto his finger and his cries die down to quiet whimpers. It seemed as though he felt a little more comfortable around the blue and yellow mech for some unknown reason; maybe he was reminded of Optimus or Bulkhead.

What would Skyquake do? Would his own twin condone the termination of a defenseless sparkling?

After a moment of contemplation, Dreadwing lifted his sword…and sheathed it. He carefully picked up Torque and cradled him close to his chestplate, causing him to let out a confused gurgle. If there was one thing that the blue and yellow mech didn't condone, not even from his master Megatron…it was the murder of a sparkling.

"…I'll take you back to your parents."

At the mention of his parents, Torque mustered up a small smile; he was starting to like this mech.

In Colorado, the Autobots, Knock Out, and Nocturne arrived to see a massive number of Eradicons guarding the satellite station…and there was no guessing that where there were computers and satellites, there had to be Soundwave. After all, this was where the activation codes for the satellite Damocles were stored, and that machine had the power to carve up buildings like a hot knife through butter, a lot like a movie Jack showed them about aliens that fired lasers at Washington DC. To their disappointment, Megatron wasn't present, but maybe they could pound a few Eradicons and get the location of the Nemesis.

"Nocturne…looks like you have access to a buffet. And play with them as much as you want before you feast…" Knock Out muttered.

Nocturne looked around at the troops, seeing the Energon pulsing through them, and found one that was completely different. It coursed with a mixture of Energon…and human blood. This had to be Silas, the former leader of MECH…the one who took their baby away. Megatron must have sent him here as a guard for Soundwave and to ensure that the silent mech's mission was successful. He had no idea just who he decided to cross…

"Knock Out…Silas is here…" Nocturne muttered back.

The red mech got up and brought out his Energon prod. "Let's pay him a visit."

Before Optimus could say anything to stop them, the bondmates charged after CYLAS and the Eradicons. Knock Out shoved his Energon prod into the chestplates and neck cables of numerous troops one by one, and Nocturne lunged for others, sinking her denta into them and draining their Energon until they went offline. CYLAS took notice of the two attackers followed by the Autobots themselves. Those two must've been the traitors Megatron mentioned, the parents of the sparkling he took. In fact, the red one was once partnered with Breakdown…so this would be exciting.

"So…that's the former medic and that's the bloodsucker Megatron warned me about…"

Knock Out rushed for CYLAS and tried to jab at him, but the 'hybrid' blocked him with his massive size alone. The red mech gritted his denta and shouted, "WHERE IS OUR SON!?"

"With Megatron…though you won't live to see him."

"You have the gall to take the body of my assistant, use it for your personal means, and steal our child!? YOU ARE A PLAGUE TO BOTH HUMANS AND CYBERTRONIANS!"

CYLAS chuckled. "Now who's the plague? You were the one protecting the disease threatening the Decepticon cause…I believe her name is Nocturne."

"Don't you DARE talk about my BONDMATE like that!"

Knock Out managed to jam his Energon prod into CYLAS's neck cables, paralyzing him for a moment. He then brought out his circular saw and managed to slice the giant's arm off. CYLAS cried out in pain…but that was nothing compared to what the femme had in store for him. That started when Nocturne leapt onto his chestplate, her blade drawn.

"Tell us where the Nemesis is and I MAY let you live…"

CYLAS groaned before he spat Energon that also had hints of human blood. "Look for it yourself. That sparkling is Megatron's new soldier…or, if he hates you that much, it's probably dead by now."

At those words, Nocturne roared and ripped open CYLAS's chestplates, revealing the battered and broken human inside hooked up to tubing connecting to Breakdown's nerves. Silas stared up at the femme as she changed into her beast form and bared her venomous fangs. With the Autobots and surviving Eradicons watching in horror, Nocturne latched onto the human and forcibly ripped him out of Breakdown's body, killing him instantly. Even Knock Out couldn't hide his shock, but knew it was a formidable act of retribution. Nocturne quickly spat out the remains of the human abomination, blood and bits of tissue clinging to her razor-sharp fangs. Still…

"…Torque…" Knock Out mumbled as he looked up at the sky.

The red and black femme changed back to her robot mode and collapsed into Knock Out's arms, lubricant from her optics splashing onto his frame. With CYLAS dead and Soundwave retreating…they would probably never see their son again. He would be lost forever or possibly dead…

And then…then came the sound of jet engines.

The bondmates and the Autobots stared into the sky and saw a familiar blue and yellow jet zoom in and land in front of them; it was Dreadwing. The first lieutenant of the Decepticons transformed and obviously had something in his arm. Knock Out and Nocturne stared at each other; could it be…?

"I believe this belongs to you." The blue and yellow mech stated as he outstretched his arm to reveal the slumbering Torque.

Knock Out and Nocturne gasped; their son was safe and sound, not a scratch on him. The femme ran forward and carefully took the sparkling out of Dreadwing's hand and cradled him. Torque slowly came out of recharge and stared up at his creators, smiling as he cooed and reached for their faceplates. The bondmates began crying and tightly holding their son, the family once again complete.

"…Thank you, Dreadwing…" Nocturne sobbed.

Knock Out smiled wryly and fought to hold more tears back. "Yes…thank you. I certainly hope Megatron doesn't terminate you…if he finds out that you spared our son's life…"

Dreadwing shook his helm. "One thing I will not tolerate from Lord Megatron…is the very thought of murdering a sparkling, just because of who his creators are. I believe it is time for me to reconsider…which side is right." He paused and turned to leave. "After all…I am a creator myself. I wish the best for the three of you."

A little while later, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Hawkeye, and the humans waited anxiously for the others to come back. After what seemed like an eternity, and a lot of pacing coming from Bulkhead, the groundbridge opened the reveal the Autobots and the bondmates coming through. The green mech looked and, to his relief, saw Torque curled up in the red mech's arms. He rubbed his optics and fought to keep from bursting with joy.

"What…how…how did you find him!?"

Nocturne let out a smile, seemingly no longer angry with Bulkhead. "…Thank Dreadwing."

Ratchet also took note of something. "Why in the Pit did you bring back Breakdown's body!?"

Knock Out stared at the shell being dragged in by Optimus and Bumblebee. "To make sure no one else can use it for ill purposes…"

Hawkeye took notice of Bulkhead leaving the group and heading for his quarters. She followed close behind and asked, "Where are you going in the middle of the celebration?"

The green mech sighed and looked back at everyone else with a hint of sadness. "…I really fragged up with Torque; I almost got him killed. I'm pretty sure they'll never trust me with him again…and that just proves I stink with kids."

The black femme crossed her arms. "Well…it was pretty reckless to take him out where he didn't need to be." She paused when she noticed his frown getting deeper. "…But that's how you learn and get smarter. And you don't suck with kids; after all, you're the best at putting up with Miko. One day…I know you'll be a great father…and a great bondmate for a lucky femme."

To her surprise, Bulkhead leaned forward and hugged her tightly. Hawkeye quickly broke away, a dark blush spreading across her visage. "Thanks for having faith in me."

Then to his surprise, Hawkeye turned away, but with a smile on her lip components, and muttered, "Careful Bulkhead…you might make me love you even more…"


	22. Changes

Author's Note: It's Torque's first birthday, and he receives gifts from the Autobots in celebration. June Darby also meets Nocturne and Torque and reveals something that's possibly connected to the femme's past. And what expected news do Bulkhead and Hawkeye realize they have?

* * *

Chapter 22: Changes

Jack and Rafael rode into the Autobot base with Arcee and Bumblebee carrying large boxes. They came in to see Ratchet working at the computers as usual and Smokescreen and Quickslinger watching a NASCAR race on the television. The two humans felt it was weird, with Miko being back in Japan and all. But she was currently working on coming back to Jasper, actually trying to convince her parents to move there. While they waited for the results of her quest, they looked to see little Torque standing shakily in his makeshift playpen.

"Hi Torque!" Rafael greeted. "Happy 'Construction Date'!"

Jack couldn't help but laugh. "Raf, he was born on Earth, I don't think Knock Out will mind if we just say 'Happy Birthday'."

"Knock Out said he wanted to teach Torque about Cybertronian customs, so I decided I would help out and learn at the same time."

Torque made babbling sparkling noises and laughed before he started sucking on his fingers. It amazed everyone that the mechling was a year old now, and during that year, he had been through a lot. Besides being exposed to the Decepticons of course, Knock Out and Nocturne were able to experience the day he could sit up on his own, when he started crawling all over the base and around Ratchet's pedes, the pain he felt as his denta came in, and now he was just getting used to walking on his own. But the bondmates were still waiting for him to say those special words…

"My mom should be over within the hour, unless she gets off her shift early." Jack added in as he pulled out his cell phone and examined the clock.

Ratchet took notice of the words Jack spoke. "This will be your mother's first time meeting Nocturne and Torque, won't it? She met Knock Out just shortly before Torque was born, which was around the time Nocturne disappeared."

"Yeah. I've already told her so much about Nocturne. Man, you should've seen the look on her face."

Raf tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she said Nocturne reminded her of a friend at the hospital that disappeared a while back. I only met her a couple of times…but now that I think about it, she and Nocturne are a lot alike."

Before anything else could be said about the matter, Torque squealed when his creators came into the room. Nocturne wore a huge smile as she leaned forward and picked the sparkling up, Torque letting out a squeak in the process. The red and black femme held him for a moment before Knock Out took over, seeing as how the mechling was reaching for him. It was obvious to the Autobots that while Torque's personality was more akin to Nocturne's, he was bonded closer to the red mech. Not that it bothered his co-creator, of course.

"It's so hard to believe that a year ago today, you came out of my frame after nine long Earth months and into this world." Knock Out marveled as he stared into Torque's tiny optics. "You and your mother are the best things that have ever happened to me."

"I'm thankful every day that we left the Decepticons." Nocturne added. "Knock Out…do you think it would be okay for Torque to become an Autobot? Or…would it be best for him to be neutral?"

The red mech bit his lower lip component, deeply pondering, before he decided to answer his bondmate. "He's still too young for that…but I hope that by the time he's old enough to fend for himself, the war will be over. I don't want Torque to worry about conflict…but I honestly wish for him to get to see Cybertron…"

"Cybertron…I would like to see it too…but Earth will always be Torque's birthplace."

The talk about Torque's future stopped when a car pulled into the base. Jack immediately recognized the vehicle belonging to his mother, June. The red car was a fine replacement for her older white model, which was lost during the Unicron incident. Mrs. Darby stepped out of her car and took in the sight beholding her.

"I heard a certain little sparkling has a birthday today!" June cooed at Torque, causing him to giggle.

Optimus and Shane couldn't help but laugh as they came into the room. It was also obvious to other Autobots that the Autobot leader and the technoorganic were also closer, in more ways than one. Everyone also took notice that Bulkhead and Hawkeye were not present and accounted for…and they were also coming closer together. It seemed now the only ones left out were Ratchet, Arcee, and Bumblebee when it came to a possible significant other.

"Mrs. Darby, you've heard of Nocturne and Torque, but let me introduce them to you personally." Ratchet began. "Torque is of course the little sparkling you got to see during one of Knock Out's sonograms…and Nocturne is Knock Out's bondmate who was missing."

June stared into Nocturne's optics…and there was an overwhelming wave of nostalgia emitting from them. The look in them…it was so familiar, but why? It reminded her of…

"You look…familiar." The woman stated.

The red and black femme wore a confused expression on her faceplate. "I do? Have we met before?"

June stayed quiet for a moment before smiling and shaking her head. "No…you just remind me of a friend I had some time ago."

Nocturne took hold of the sparkling and sat down in front of June. "What was your friend like? I've never heard Jack talk about him or her. Please tell me…"

Mrs. Darby took a seat up in the raised walkway and decided to explain, seeing as Nocturne wasn't the only one curious. She took a deep breath and brought together everything about her mysterious friend in her mind to share verbally.

"Probably close to two years ago, before Jack and the other kids met the Autobots, there was a fellow nurse at the hospital…who I considered a close friend. In fact…I think I was her only friend. She came to the United States from Brazil while she was still a teenager, to make a better life for herself; where she grew up was, to put it bluntly, horrendous. She sat alone during lunch one day…so I decided to be nice and talk to her because no one else would. After that…we became friends. No…we acted more like sisters. She was really kind, and very shy…but she shared with me that she always wanted to be a wife and mother. She always wore red scrubs and always wore her hair in a braid, and she had the warmest brown eyes."

"What happened to her?" Knock Out suddenly asked.

June sighed, sadness suddenly filling her eyes. "One day…she didn't come to work. And the days…turned to weeks…and then turned to months. Since she had no close family, I was the one who filed a missing persons report. But since it's been this long…there's a chance she's dead."

"Mom…what was her name?"

"Her name…her name was Isabelle Paleiolokos."

The name seemed to strike something in Nocturne, as she suddenly grunted and clutched her head, causing Knock Out to grab Torque before he tumbled out of her lap. The red mech placed his hand on her shoulder and ask, "Nocturne, what's wrong!? Are you okay!?"

The red and black femme took a few deep intakes before the pain apparently stopped and she opened her optics, which were slightly glazed over. "I-I'm fine… I…don't know why that happened…"

"Are you sure you're all right?" Ratchet cut in.

Nocturne meekly nodded and noticed the mechling worriedly reaching out for her. She smiled and took him back into her arms. Smokescreen ran forward with something in his hands, obviously put together with help from Quickslinger.

"Can we give Torque his presents now? We can't keep him waiting forever!"

Knock Out frowned. "All right, all right! Just don't shove them in his face!"

The red mech opened the box presented to the mechling by the blue and white mech, revealing a little datapad. Confused at first, Knock Out turned it on and realized it was a Cybertronian story read to the mechling one evening that he took a strong liking to. It was titled "Hot Shot and the Velocitron Squad". Torque squealed and clapped his small hands.

"Looks like you'll be having a good night's recharge tonight, Torque." Knock Out mused. "Why don't we see what 'Grandpa' Ratchet got you?"

Ignoring the fact that Ratchet grumbled under his breath that he wasn't THAT old, the red mech unwrapped and opened the gift to reveal a "How to be a Medic" kit. Well, it would be nice if Torque decided to become a medic when he grew into a mech. The present from Optimus and Shane was a set of toys modeled after creatures called 'Dinobots' back on Cybertron. Torque took one resembling a T. Rex and started sucking on it as his creator opened up the gift from Bumblebee. It was a set of blocks with Cybertronian letter to help him learn his native language. The one from Bulkhead, and most likely Hawkeye too, was actually a toy Energon prod that looked exactly like Knock Out's.

"All right Torque, let's see what Jack and Rafael got you. And I believe Miko sent you something from Japan…"

Nocturne helped to open the remaining three boxes from the humans. The first box from Rafael was a diorama of a Cybertronian version of Jasper, obviously mixing the two cultures. From Miko, to their surprise, was a piece of sheet music; it was a song she wrote called "Torque's Lullaby". The third, which came from Jack, was revealed to be a scrapbook filled with all the events from the day Torque was born. The mechling saw a photo in the book of himself and his creators and pointed his finger at it. And then…his mouth started opening and closing and small whimpers emitted from his vocal processor.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Nocturne asked.

"…D…ah…

"What's that? Is something wrong, Torque?"

"D…a…d…ah…"

Knock Out and Nocturne swiftly turned their helms to each other and locked optics. Could this be…?

"Da…da…" Torque mumbled as he pointed to his creator in the photo.

"T-Torque…c-could you say that again?" Knock Out shakily asked.

The mechling looked back and forth between his creator and the photo before he beamed and cried out, "Dada!"

The bondmates cried out and hugged the son; he finally said his first word! Torque, confused at first, suddenly giggled at how happy his creators were at that moment. Of course, Knock Out was the proudest, since the mechling said "Dada". But apparently, Torque wasn't finished. They took notice that he looked back at the photo and was trying to form yet another word.

"Something else, sweetie?" Nocturne questioned hopefully.

The mechling pointed towards his co-creator in the photo and stared up at her before giggling and crying out, "Mama!"

The red and black femme cheered and gave the sparkling kiss after kiss on his cheekplates, earning squeals of delight from his vocal processor. The celebration was suddenly and abruptly interrupted when Bulkhead rushed into the room, panting and resting his hands on his knee joints.

"Bulkhead, what's the rush?" Ratchet asked.

The green mech cycled a few heated intakes before looking up at the Autobot medic and answering, "You…you…I need you…to take a look at Hawk! She's…she's feeling funny."

Ratchet followed Bulkhead as he lead the way to the black femme, and everyone else, even little Torque, figured they could follow as well to see what was going on. The mechling trotted forward before Knock Out grabbed him and lifted him to his chestplates. Even though he was entering what humans called the 'toddler stage' and, according to the human textbooks, was more prone to fits when he didn't want to do something, Torque wasn't the type to throw a fit. In fact, no one ever knew of a sparkling possessing such patience as him.

Bulkhead stopped at Hawkeye's quarters and got out of the doorway so the red and white mech could step in and take a look. Ratchet carefully entered…and found the black femme hunched over a waste bin. Hawkeye slowly turned her helm to face the Autobot medic, her lips covered with fresh Energon and corrosive liquid common in the fuel tanks of Cybertronians. Her optics were glazed over, and everyone was surprised to see that she didn't have her yellow visor-glasses on; you practically had to strap her down just to get them off. Before she could utter a word, her cheekplates puffed out before she shoved her helm back into the bin. That caused Torque to say his third word.

"Ew…" The sparkling winced.

"Bulkhead, how long has she been like this?" Ratchet questioned in a low whisper.

The green mech absentmindedly scratched the back of his helm. "I dunno…probably a couple of weeks…but it was nowhere near this bad; she was just nauseated and moody most of the time."

Ratchet blinked his optics until an eerie realization dawned on him. Could Hawkeye be…? Knock Out seemed to come to the same conclusion as he handed Torque to Nocturne and followed Ratchet. As the black femme continued to purge her fuel tanks, he pulled the two Autobots to the side and focused his ruby optics on Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, this may seem out-of-the-blue…but did you and Hawkeye happen to…interface recently?"

The green mech's optics widened and he backed up in astonishment. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't tell me you're suggesting…"

Hawkeye's audio sensors perked and she jerked her helm to face the red mech's direction. "What's he suggesting!?"

Knock Out looked at Hawkeye, clearing his vocal processor and awkwardly clasping his hands together. "Now don't panic Hawkeye…but…I believe your symptoms point to one conclusion."

"And that would be?" Hawkeye asked before her optics widened and she slammed her hand against her helm. "Oh no…you don't think I'm…"

"I believe that you are sparked, Hawkeye."


	23. Always Wanting More

Author's Note: While still in the company of the Autobots, who have grown to love little Torque, Nocturne expresses her wishes to have another child...but will Knock Out agree to it? And what are Nocturne's plans concerning Breakdown's body? Does she have an ulterior motive?

* * *

Chapter 23: Always Wanting More

"And then, just as all hope seemed lost, Hot Shot could hear the voices of his friends calling to him, telling him to never give up and to never surrender to the dastardly bandits. Ransack and Crumplezone were taken aback when the leader of the Velocitron Squad got back up on his feet, still pumping with Energon, ready for another fight!"

Torque clapped at one of his favorite parts of his favorite story. Smokescreen laughed; the mechling was fun to be around and it was especially fun when he got to play with him and give Knock Out and Nocturne a break. And hanging out with him…it was a way to lighten up the fact that Hawkeye was about five months sparked, thanks to Bulkhead. The black femme was a little mad over it at first and even considered terminating the sparkling, but Nocturne told her of Bulkhead's innate desire to be a creator, going so far as to even being jealous of Knock Out. And so…the black femme decided to keep it, much to the joy of the green mech.

"Keep…going!" Torque stated.

"All right, let's get to the grand finale!" Smokescreen agreed. "Hot Shot revved up his engines and charged through the notorious bandits Ransack and Crumplezone, knocking them down on their tailpipes! The criminals didn't have time to react when the locked door was finally disabled, allowing the rest of the Velocitron Squad to enter and arrest them! Thanks to their efforts, Hot Shot and his beloved squad were hailed as heroes to the Velocitronian public for eons to come. The end."

The mechling giggled and clapped his hands at the ending. He stopped when he saw his 'Aunt' Hawkeye walking through the room, a bulge noticeable on her abdominal plating and a groan escaping her lip components. Apparently, she had another rough night of recharge, and the unborn sparkling inside her wasn't making anything better. She noticed Torque looking her way, so she plastered on a smile for his sake.

"Is your big brother Smokescreen reading you your favorite story?"

Torque smiled. "Yep!"

"I'm keeping him entertained while his parents have some…'play time'…if you know what I mean." Smokescreen cut in.

The black femme pursed her lip components together before she realized what the blue and white mech meant by 'play time'. Good Primus…either they were due for some long-needed interfacing…or Nocturne was having the discussion with Knock Out…and something like that they had over two years ago resulted in Torque being conceived.

* * *

"Knock Out…do you ever think that Torque might be…lonely?"

Knock Out opened one of his optics to look at the femme resting her body on his chestplate. "I never thought he seemed lonely. Why do you ask?"

Nocturne sighed and brought her helm up to the red mech's chin. "He seems very excited that Bulkhead and Hawkeye are going to have a sparkling of their own. He already wants to call it his 'little brother' or 'little sister'. You don't suppose…" She paused and stared up at him. "You don't suppose he wants a little brother or sister, do you?"

The red mech grimaced and sat up on the berth, the red and black femme lifting herself up before she slid off. It surprised him that she would even bring that up; Torque was just seventeen months old. Was he truly ready to have a younger sibling? Was Knock Out truly ready to consider having a second child? He remembered all-too-well what it was like getting the mechling out of him after nine grueling months…and it sucked that Nocturne couldn't carry one from now on. Of course, he also knew that deep down, Nocturne was really the one who wanted Torque to have a sibling.

"Nocturne…I know what you're up to. You want another child, don't you?"

The red and black femme pouted a moment, tracing her finger along the surface of the berth and averting his gaze, before her green optics stared back up at him. "Well…it would be nice…"

Knock Out sighed and sat on the edge of the berth, his chin resting in his hand. "Nocturne…you know what happened last time. You were kidnapped by the Predacons throughout the time I was sparked with Torque! I don't want that to happen again… Besides…we don't need to overstay our welcome with the Autobots; they wouldn't like another mouth to feed…"

"But we can make it work. I mean…we could set up our own base! One that Megatron couldn't possibly find! Maybe Agent Fowler can make some arrangements to-"

"Nocturne!" Knock Out abruptly stopped her. "No means no! Torque will have a playmate in the form of Bulkhead and Hawkeye's sparkling, so what does he even need a sibling for?"

Nocturne stayed silent. She just went back to tracing invisible pictures onto the surface of the berth with her sharpened fingertip, not even wanting to make eye contact with her bondmate. Knock Out suddenly found the silence unnerving; he hated it when the femme was potentially angry with him in any way. She really did want another child so bad…and he figured out the reason. She wanted to be there for the birth of this one, since the Predacons took that opportunity away from her concerning their son. She actually wanted a second chance…so now he felt bad for denying her that choice.

"Nocturne…you really want this, don't you?" The red mech asked softly.

The femme glanced back at him, sensing that he was about to cave in. "…I know I still can't remember much of my past…but I do remember that I've always wanted to have children…to be a mother. Don't get me wrong…we're blessed so much with Torque…so why don't we give him a brother or sister of his own? So…yes…this is something I really want…"

Knock Out sighed and knew exactly what to do. "Well, do me a favor… Just shut up and help me get this plating off. And make sure to get that blade fired up…"

A smile appeared on her lip components as she straddled herself on top of him. "…It would be my pleasure."

Meanwhile, Torque was trotting down the halls of the base, searching for a misplaced block, when he could hear strange noises coming from his parents' quarters. Typical of a sparkling, he stood at the doorway and attempted to stand on the tips of his pedes in order to reach the keypad to open the door. Fortunately, he was too small to reach it, which prevented him from discovering at a young age what interfacing was. Bumblebee happened to be walking down the same hallway when he caught the sparkling futilely reaching for the keypad. As soon as the yellow mech reached Torque, he could hear the moaning coming from behind the door. Trying to hide the blush on his visage, he scooped the sparkling into his arms and led him away.

"Mama Dada pwaying!" Torque beamed as he pointed at the door.

'Yeah…they're playing all right…and playing hard.' Bumblebee beeped awkwardly. 'Let's go fix a snack and see what Grandpa Ratchet's doing.'

* * *

Nocturne was the first to awaken after she and Knock Out had an overload. Her green optics focused on her bondmate, who was still slumbering. A smile on her lip components, she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheekplate before getting up to exit their quarters. It would still be a few weeks before they could find out if their 'efforts' paid off, but she was confident about what would happen. She quietly typed on the keypad to open and close the door before strolling down the hallway.

One of the first things she saw was Smokescreen, Quickslinger, and Bumblebee in the main room and in recharge, with Torque slumbering on the yellow mech's chestplate. She would come get the sparkling in a moment…right after she took care of some business. Sensing that the others were asleep as well, she quietly crept down the base hallway to the many storage rooms. She glanced at a few, all the while grimacing at one; they needed to get rid of the pod Airachnid was in once and for all.

And then she reached the room at the end.

Typing a few keys, the door opened and she crept inside. The door closed behind her, so no one would hear the work she had to do. Breathing out a sigh, she walked forward and greeted a sight she had come to be used to.

"Hello again, Breakdown…" Nocturne quietly greeted the prone shell. "It certainly has been a while, hasn't it?"

Breakdown's still-battered shell didn't answer, but that was all right…for now. The red and black femme walked up closer, her optics dimming and her fangs poking out from her lip components as she continued to stare at the dead blue mech.

"You probably wouldn't believe it…but you're an uncle. I know you were always afraid of me, the short time we knew each other, but Knock Out and I have a son…and we're now trying for another child." She paused and allowed a smile to grace her faceplate. "I know deep down that Knock Out misses you, and we're all glad that MECH doesn't have your body anymore. Still…you didn't get to live your life while you still had it… I wish there was some way to help you come back…and maybe you can help the Autobots…"

To her surprise, Nocturne felt her blade and tube start to quiver before the mechanism detached itself, like it did earlier, but this time went towards Breakdown's neck cables. The tip of the blade shot itself into his Energon lines…and began pumping something into him. The femme watched as the rust patches and breaks in his frame…began to repair themselves. What was going on? She never was able to do THIS before, so why now? Was it because she really wanted Breakdown alive again to make Knock Out happy? Though his scars and wounds were healed…Breakdown remained motionless. The black femme figured that additional doses would be needed…but that would be for another time. Right now…it was time to get Torque into his berth.

It would be nice for the mechling to have another uncle to play with…along with a brother or sister.


	24. Reawakening

Author's Note: Knock Out and Nocturne realize they are sparked again, and now a familiar face has come back thanks to the femme...but what will be the reaction to his return?

* * *

Chapter 24: Reawakening

"So…how is it with the two 'Cons at Optimus' joint?" Wheeljack asked his bondmate as they sat idling in the Jackhammer.

Serlena chuckled. "You mean you still act like Knock Out and Nocturne living there with their sparkling is a new thing? Honestly, you need to stop by more; you haven't paid a visit to Bulkhead in forever."

The multicolored mech chuckled. "Yeah, well…I've been letting him get some alone time with Hawk…and considering she's sparked…I doubt he has time for visitation."

"Nonsense, Bulkhead has plenty of time for his best friend! I'm going over there to give Hawkeye a checkup, so come with me! And…I also got a message from Nocturne…to give Knock Out a checkup."

Wheeljack cracked his joints and got into the pilot's seat as Serlena hopped into the passenger's seat. The mech pressed a few buttons on the control panel before he resumed the conversation. "How's your progress on the Energon-sucker?"

The gray and gold femme sighed. "Her case is a challenge, I tell you. I've never seen a system like hers…so I'm actually having doubts about if I can really cure her."

"Come on, 'Lena. Don't give up, I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off and make medical history."

Serlena couldn't help but laugh; Wheeljack always knew what to say to bring a smile back onto her faceplate.

* * *

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Nocturne cooed as she stood over Torque.

The mechling giggled as he sat in his highchair and proceeded to drink from a sparkling-safe Energon cube. Knock Out and Nocturne took turns every morning getting their sparkling refueled and ready for the day ahead. Today, it was the femme's turn, as the mech was currently in the medbay complaining of an upset fuel tank. Everyone else seemed surprised that Knock Out had suddenly fallen ill…but the red and black femme didn't seem surprised. In fact, it was almost as if she were expecting this to happen.

"Well, there's the little mech!" Arcee greeted Torque before turning her attention to Nocturne. "Anything on Knock Out?"

"Ratchet's still examining him before Serlena comes." She paused and let out a soft chuckle. "He wants him out of the medbay quick to make room for Hawkeye. Bulkhead's been hovering over her 24/7, making sure she's okay before their sparkling's born."

"It's not due for another three months and he's already being paranoid." The blue femme sighed. "Say…have you noticed that Breakdown's body…looks almost brand new?"

Nocturne glanced away for a split second before answering, "…No…I haven't noticed."

"It's weird…all the rust and dents on him…it's like they never existed. Maybe Knock Out's been sneaking in the storage room and polishing him up."

The red and black femme sighed and locked her optics onto Torque. "…Yes…I suppose he is."

Just a few seconds later a meteorology truck sped into the base and transformed into none-other than Serlena. The femme medic offered a wave to Arcee and Nocturne before stepping inside the medbay with Ratchet and Knock Out. Right afterwards came Wheeljack, transforming and setting his optics onto Torque.

"…'Sup, kid?" He greeted nonchalantly.

The mechling only giggled from his Energon cube before spouting out, "Jackie!"

"Well, at least he got my name right." The multicolored mech noted.

Nocturne laughed and knelt down in front of her son. "Aw, you love your Uncle Wheeljack and Aunt Serlena, don't you? And they love you very much too…just like the rest of us do!"

Torque nodded, Energon spilling from his cube and out of his mouth. His mother proceeded to take a polishing rag and wipe his chin off before tilting the cube up over his mouth for him to get an appropriate drink. Even though the mechling was getting better at feeding himself, he still needed help every once in a while. Without warning, Knock Out finally came out of the medbay and walked slowly up to Nocturne.

"Knock Out…how did it go?" The red and black femme asked as she picked Torque up out of his highchair.

The red mech swallowed hard, causing his bondmante to feel uneasy. But then…a smile appeared on his lip components and he tightly hugged his bondmate and their son.

"…We're sparked."

"…W-We are?"

Knock Out nodded and took hold of Torque. He kissed the mechling on his forehelm before telling him, "Torque, I have some good news. You're going to get yourself a brother or sister!"

Torque smile and clapped his tiny hands. However, Arcee and Wheeljack looked at each other with concerned glances. They had planned this, didn't they? Would they be able to handle yet another mouth to feed? After all, Bulkhead and Hawkeye were expecting a sparkling of their own, and Energon was beginning to be on short supply, even though it was getting easier to obtain with the number of Decepticons dropping.

Still…

* * *

"Hello again, Breakdown…"

Nocturne found herself standing once again in front of the lifeless shell of Breakdown…but he looked much better compared to when he was first brought to the Autobot base. All of his discolorations and flaws were gone…even though his optic couldn't regenerate. She took a seat on a crate and stared up at the sparkless body, a smile forming on her lip components.

"I have some good news…Knock Out and I are expecting another child. That means…Torque will finally get his own brother or sister. I can't tell you how excited he is…" She suddenly paused and drew some imaginary shapes into the metal of the crate. "I…forgive you for the day you tried to attack me…you know, the day you witnessed one of my 'feedings'. But…I overheard you and Knock Out…and needless to say, I'm happy that you agreed to keep our secret and protect us."

Breakdown didn't reply…not that she expected him to. Still, it would've been nice if she could have an actual conversation with him. The red and black femme got up from her seat and stood in front of the blue mech's shell…and found herself suddenly hugging it.

"Thank you…for being Knock Out's friend. It meant so much to him…and you gave him a reason to keep fighting. If only…you could come back…just to give him some closure…"

Once again, without warning, the tubing and blade on her arm disconnected, waved around like a scorpion's tail, and jabbed Breakdown in the neck cables, pumping some unknown substance into him. Little did she realize…this dose would prove to be the most potent. The blade dislodged from the lifeless shell and went back to its owner…and Nocturne gasped when the body let out a groan. It wasn't the groan that came from metal moving after an extended time in stasis.

It was a groan…like someone groaning after awakening from a deep sleep.

The red and black femme stared in stunned silence as Breakdown's lone optic suddenly came online. The blue mech moaned and focused it before it locked onto the being staring up at him…someone he wished he could forget.

"YOU!" Breakdown roared.

Nocturne screamed and jumped back when the blue mech brought out his hammer and swung it at her. He was strong, but she was fast…but that wouldn't last long.

"Breakdown, calm down! Everything's all right; there's nothing to worry about!"

"Nothing to worry about!? WHERE THE PIT AM I!? WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?"

The red and black femme could suddenly hear footsteps coming from outside the storage area. The Autobots must've heard the commotion; with Breakdown's booming, who wouldn't? It was just mere seconds later that the door was broken down by Bulkhead and the Autobots ran inside.

"What's goin' on!?" The green mech asked, his wrecking ball ready.

Ratchet stood frozen in place, and the others followed. "By…Primus…"

"H-How is that possible…?" Arcee asked incredulously. "Nocturne…did you do this?"

Nocturne gulped and took a step back from the steaming Breakdown. "I…I think so… I don't really know…"

Breakdown blinked his amber optic and the sudden realization of where he was dawned on him. "Wait… What the hell am I doing in the Autobot base!? What's going on here!? WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!?"

"Would you keep it down!?" A voice drawing closer called out. "Torque is trying to recharge!"

Knock Out made his way to the storage room, convinced that the Autobots were having some sort of argument that threatened to awaken the slumbering sparkling. He trudged down the hall and into the room ready to shout at the ones interfering with Torque's nap when he saw a familiar and very-alive faceplate and stopped dead in his tracks.

"…Breakdown?"

The blue mech calmed down at the sight of the red mech. "Knock Out? What's going on here? What are we doing with the Autobots?"

"How… How did you come back to life?"

"Back to life? You mean…I was dead?" He paused and clutched his helm with his hand. "The last thing I remember…is me and Dreadwing chasing after Airachnid…and then one of her legs jabbed at me… But…answer my questions…please."

Knock Out was suddenly alerted to a whimpering sound from down the hall. He rushed out, knowing who was emitting the sound, and went to investigate. Everyone waited a few seconds before he brought with him Torque, who was clutching to his chestplates and rubbing at his optics. Apparently, he was awoken from recharge, but he wasn't the type to cry about it. However, when his small ruby optics zoomed over to Breakdown, he gasped and buried his faceplate into his creator's shoulder, obviously remembering the CYLAS incident.

"Sshh…don't be scared Torque. Breakdown's not going to hurt you; he doesn't have that bad human controlling him anymore." Knock Out comforted the mechling.

Breakdown studied the sparkling but was even more surprised by how…nurturing Knock Out was acting. The little guy looked a lot like the Doc and Nocturne combined. Wait…Doc and Nocturne combined!? Was that…did they really breed? He shook the disturbing thoughts out of his helm and slowly walked forward to his old friend.

"…It's okay, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you; I promise."

Torque turned his helm to the blue mech and stared at his face. Hey…he didn't look scary like he did last time. Slowly and practicing a lot of caution for a sparkling, he stretched his arm out and touched his tiny hand to Breakdown's. After a few seconds, the mechling smiled and let out a giggle.

"Bweaky!"

Knock Out couldn't help but smile at his son…and then his optics went to Nocturne. He walked towards his bondmate, who still wore disbelief and fear on her faceplate, and softly asked her, "Nocturne…did you bring Breakdown back to life?"

The red and black femme slowly nodded and muttered, "…I-I think I did…"

"Breakdown…" Optimus suddenly addressed the blue mech. "I know that you are in a state of shock…but please allow me to summarize the situation." He paused and motioned for Breakdown to take a seat on one of the metal crates. "A little over two years ago, Knock Out and Nocturne fled the Decepticon cause when Megatron found out they were sparked with Torque. They have been in refuge with us ever since, even though Nocturne went missing for a period of time. After Torque was born and after Nocturne returned, MECH apparently gained the means to integrate their leader, Silas, with your circuitry."

"That little fleshbag had control of MY body!?" Breakdown vented.

"Allow me to finish." The red and blue mech stopped the other from doing something reckless. "It was thanks to Nocturne that Silas is no longer in control. At the same time, Silas used your body to abduct Torque and bring him to Megatron…where he ordered Dreadwing to kill him."

Breakdown's optic widened. "Megatron was gonna kill a sparkling? That's…that's too cruel…"

Optimus nodded. "Thankfully…Dreadwing is much more honorable than his leader and brought Torque back to his family." He paused and stared the blue mech right into his remaining optic. "Now Breakdown…I am going to ask you something…something that you need to consider greatly…and whatever choice you make, I will respect that."

"What…are you gonna ask me?"

"…Would you be willing to join the Autobot cause?"


End file.
